Always Remember Those Who Gave All: MC WW2 Gold Stars and MIA Survivors

Photo courtesy of East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association

David Hezekiah Briggs Jr. (1924-1944)

MC Class: ex-1946

Years at MC: 1942-1943 (Freshman)

Hometown: Maryville, Tennessee

Life at MC: Science major; Football, Student Council, Lived in Carnegie Hall and roomed with George Callahan

Military Branch: US Army

Military Unit: 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division

Rank: Private First Class

Medals Awarded: Purple Heart

Date Missing: N/A

Date of Death: 15 August 1944

Location of Death: Near Tinchebray, Normandy, France

Circumstances of Death: Killed in action near Tinchebray, Normandy, France (Company B, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division)

Burial/Memorial Information: Plot F, Row 9, Grave 16, Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial, Saint-James, Department de la Manche, Basse-Normandie, France (burial: https://www.abmc.gov/decedent-search/briggs%3Ddavid and https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56353468/david-h-briggs) and East Tennessee Veterans Memorial, World's Fair Park, Knoxville, Tennessee (memorial: https://etvma.org/veterans/david-h-briggs-jr-7213/)

Additional Information: Son of Dr. David Hezekiah Briggs (MC Class of 1919 and Chair of the Department of Psychology and Education at MC)

Additional Images:

1943 MC Football Team (Briggs is back row, fourth from right)

October 7, 1944 Highland Echo article announcing death of David H. Briggs Jr.