LOGAN, JAMES MARION (1920 ~ 1999) James Marion Logan, Medal of Honor recipient, was born in Luling, Texas on December 19, 1920. As a young man growing up during the Great Depression, Logan took many odd jobs in order to help support his family. He swept floors and dove for golf balls in the San Marcos River, until he was able to pass for seventeen. Like many of his generation, Logan would be called to the battlefields of Europe.
On August 4, 1936, Logan joined the Texas National Guard because it would pay him a dollar a week; much more than retrieving stray golf balls. At the age of fifteen, Logan enlisted in Company L, Luling Guard, and remained with the unit until it was mustered into federal service in 1940. He was serving as a rifleman in Company I, 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division (Texas National Guard) when his company landed on the beach near Salerno, Italy on September 9, 1943.
In combat, his old friends said, Logan displayed the same toughness of spirit that he acquired during childhood. Professor David Stroud of Kilgore College stated that, "What Sergeant Logan did that day was more than enough for even a million lifetimes . . .That is why we are here." In a letter to Sergeant Logan, Governor Bush said, "You have earned the gratitude of the nation and of the state of Texas. I honor your courage, and I thank you for your service."
However, unlike all but a handful of his fellow soldiers, this young man from Luling, Texas would return home with the nations highest award for valor --the Medal of Honor. In addition to this, Logan also earned the Distinguished Service Cross and the Bronze Star for bravery and the Purple Heart for being wounded. However, there was but one more way to recognize his service to not only the nation but to the State of Texas. More than three decades after its official authorization by the 58th Texas Legislature, Technical Sergeant James Marion Logan received the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor on May 30, 1997. Logan was presented the medal at a ceremony in the Texas House of Representatives Chamber.
Sgt. Logan passed away on October 9, 1999, in Kilgore, Texas and was buried in the Texas State Cemetery five days later. |
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