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The late James
McLemore. |
Mr. James Malcolm McLemore, 88, of
Huntingdon, Tennessee died Sunday, January
27, 2008 at the Jackson Madison County
General Hospital. He served as Carroll
County clerk for 24 years (1946-1954) and
(1970 to September 1, 1986).
Funeral services are Wednesday, January 30,
2008 at 11:00 a.m. in the Chapel of Chase
Funeral Home, Huntingdon. Interment will
follow in the Oak Hill Cemetery.
Mr. James M. McLemore was born April 16,
1919 in Huntingdon to the late Malcolm J.
McLemore and Clell French McLemore. His dad,
Malcolm, was a former sheriff of Carroll
County, former state representative, and a
Tennessee state senator.
McLemore graduated high school in
Huntingdon, where he was a well-known
football player on the Huntingdon Mustang
team. He was captain and quarterback of the
Mustangs of 1937, the first-ever undefeated
Huntingdon team – going 11 and 0 that year.
James was selected “All State” and “All West
Tennessee.” While playing football in
Huntingdon, James gained the nickname of
“Mule”, probably for his stubborn tenacity
on the playing field. Also, while in high
school he won a Golden Gloves championship
in Memphis in 1938.
He later played football for the University
of Tennessee, and Mississippi State
University – where he played in the Orange
Bowl. He was also a member of the
Mississippi State Boxing Team.
After college, shortly before World War II
started, James exercised his patriotic duty.
He served in the United States Marine Corps
for four years, attaining the rank of
sergeant.
James has been a productive citizen of
Carroll County his entire life.
Following the war, he was elected as county
clerk, a position in which he served for 24
years.
County Clerk Carolyn Lutz worked with
McLemore for 14 years before his retirement
in 1986 and noted the two never had a cross
word during their tenure together. She was
elected to succeed McLemore and has served
in that capacity since.
“We lost a person that loved Carroll County
and its people very much. He was happiest
when helping others,” said Lutz. “I learned
from him to treat everyone fairly and
impartially. He was very honest and I
enjoyed working with him all those years. He
was a true friend.”
On April 16, 2002, he was inducted into
Carroll County’s first class of Sports Hall
of Fame.
The McLemore family was selected to receive
the Pioneer Family Award during the 2005
Heritage Festival. During the presentation
by Huntingdon Mayor Dale Kelley, James
McLemore was lauded for developing one of
the town’s first subdivisions and donating
land for the Jaycee pool, which was named
the McLemore Pool. He also helped organize
the Huntingdon Historical Museum.
He enlisted in the Marine Corps in September
1941, less than three months before the
attack on Pearl Harbor. After completing his
boot training, at Marine Corps Recruit
Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina, he
served in several assignments, before being
transferred to a combat aviation squadron.
As the war continued, he served overseas,
passing through Pearl Harbor, with stops
throughout the Pacific theater.
But most noteworthy, he was involved in
three of the most important combat
operations in Marine Corps history including
Saipan, Okinawa, and Iwo Jima.
It was at Iwo Jima that five Marines and a
Navy Corpsman raised the flag on Mount
Suribachi, where War Correspondent Joe
Rosenthal snapped the most recognized
photograph of the war. Today, a huge statue
memorializing that event stands in Arlington
National Cemetery.
A few days after the flag raising, James
stood atop Mount Suribachi, on the same spot
where the flag had been raised. “When I
wrote a feature newspaper story about James
a few years ago, he described that
experience to me,” wrote Chuck Ross for a
newspaper article. When he arrived atop
Suribachi, he was asked by other Marines
just why he was there. His response was, “I
was just being nosey. I tried to get other
Marines to go with me, but nobody wanted to
go.” James told Ross he once held in his
hands, the actual flag that was raised on
Iwo Jima.
He could have kept one of the most historic
flags in history, but exercising the honor
of most Marines, he gave it back to the
proper authority.
Later, he witnessed, from the air, the
carnage resulting from the atomic bomb
dropped on Nagasaki, a few days after the
infamous Hiroshima bomb. He was one of only
a few humans to witness the carnage – up
close and personal. He said it was difficult
to believe that anybody could have survived
the fury of that explosion.
On December 7, 1945, James was discharged
from the Marine Corps, at San Diego,
California – exactly four years after the
Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese.
He spent the remainder of his life residing
in Carroll County. See obituary inside this
issue. |
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