Wednesday, November 10, 2010

George J. Dunagan



GEORGE J. DUNAGAN, 92

PASSED AWAY: 06/11/2006Funeral services are scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 12, 2006, at New Holland Baptist Church for George J. Dunagan, 92, of Gainesville. The Rev. Mike Taylor will officiate. The remains will lie in state from 9:30 to 10 a.m. at the church. Interment will be in Alta Vista Cemetery.


The family will receive friends from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at Ward's Funeral Home.


Mr. Dunagan died Saturday, June 10, 2006, at Autumn Breeze Assisted Living following a period of declining health.


Mr. Dunagan was born July 2, 1913, in Hall County. He was the son of the late William Andrew and Mellie Cochran Dunagan. He was a retired teacher, having taught returning military veterans after World War II and assisting them in getting their GED; former principal of Candler Elementary School and Chestnut Mountain Elementary; and taught school at Lyman Hall, Sardis Elementary; guidance counselor at North Hall High, Lumpkin County High, Lakemont School in Rabun County, Dawson County; and was assistant principal in Summerville.


Mr. Dunagan loved gardening and had a great love for genealogy. He was a member of New Holland Baptist Church, Sunday school teacher and deacon. He was a longtime member of the Gideons. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ida Lou Waldrep Dunagan; brother, William Melvin Dunagan; and sister, Lucille Ladd.


In lieu of flowers, please make memorial gifts to Gideons International; or New Holland Baptist building fund.


Survivors include his son, Michael Dunagan, Cornelia; son and daughter-in-law, Bradley and Mary Dunagan, Gainesville; daughters and sons-in-law, Sandra and Congressman Nathan Deal, Gainesville, and Brenda and Gary Rakes, Clermont; grandchildren, Jason and Denise Deal, Gainesville, Mary Emily and Greg O'Bradovich, Atlanta, Carrie and Clint Wilder, Demorest, Katie Deal, Gainesville, Lori and Paul Kern, Bristol, Fla., Benjamin Bonnell, Bristol, Fla., Derek and Tiffany Dunagan, Oakwood, David Dunagan, Oakwood, Leah and Britt Hulsey, Murrayville, Lindsey Dunagan, Gainesville, and Tyler Dunagan, Gainesville; 12 great-grandchildren; brother and sister-in-law, Dempsey and Bonnie Dunagan, Gainesville; and a number of nieces, nephews and other relatives.


George J. Dunagan and J. Dempsey Dunagan

Friday, June 25, 2010

Missouri Ann Clifford Dunagan

Missouri Ann Clifford Dunagan was the daughter of Captain Stephen Reid Dunagan, CSA, and Eliza Ann Turk Woode. She was born in Guntersville, AL, on 26 June 1856, and died 3 May 1934, in Lordsburg, NM.

In 1874 she married Robert Grey Sexton who was born 9 Nov 1846, in Marshall, Alabama. He died on 2 Feb 1930 and is buried in Lordsburg, Hidalgo, New Mexico. They had the following children:

Oseciola Sexton 1875 – 1931
Walter Eugene Sexton 1877 – 1880
Minnie Dean Sexton 1880 – 1968
Stephen Ray Sexton 1882 – 1970
Harold Ancel Sexton 1884 – 1887
Maude Lou Sexton 1891 – 1946





Oseciola Sexton (1875 – 1931) and family

(on right)Oseciola Sexton 1875 – 1931

Monday, June 7, 2010

Capt. Stephen Reid Dunagan (1827-1894)









Stephen Reid Dunagan's parents were Ezekiel Dunagan (1771-1836) and Margaret "Peggy" Wallace(Wallis) and he was born in Hall County, Georgia in 1827. After his father died in 1836, he along with his mother and siblings moved to Alabama to live with relatives.

In the Civil War, Stephen Reid Dunagan rose to the rank of Captain and served as a calvary officer with the CSA, Company G, 4th. Alabama Calvary also known as Russell's Rangers. They say that he had red hair and a red beard and must have been an imposing figure when leading a calvary charge. After the CSA surrender, Captain Dunagan moved his family from Alabama, first, to Texas, and later to New Mexico.

Captain Stephen Reid Dunagan was born September 25, 1827, in Gainesville, Hall County, Georgia and died April 17, 1894, in Lordsburg, Hidalgo County, New Mexico. He married Eliza Ann Turk Woode who was born June 17, 1829 in Gainesville, Hall County, Georgia and she died on April 27, 1894, only ten days after her husband's death. They had the following children:

Mary Jane Juliana Dunagan 1847 – 1865

Martha Jane Indiana Dunagan 1848 – 1921
Lorenzo Dow Dunagan 1849 – 1929
Colin Helen Dunagan 1852 – 1870
L Georgia Ann Dunagan 1854 – 1934
Missouri Ann Clifford Dunagan 1856 – 1934
Ezekial Jackson Dunagan 1859 – 1885
Stephen Reid Dunagan 1861 – 1936
Robert "Bob" Jefferson Dunagan 1863 – 1922
Ida Dunagan 1868 –


Stephen R Dunagan (Jr.)was born in Birmingham, Blount County, Alabama on January 10, 1861, and died February 25, 1936, in Animas, Hidalgo County, New Mexico. He married Delilah Ann Conner who was born August 31, 1876, in Brownwood, Brown County, Texas, and she died May 19, 1964, in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona. They had the following children:


Benjamin Stephen Dunagan
Walter Ezekiel Dunagan
Marvin Gee Dunagan
Mary Eliza Dunagan
Charles Holmes Dunagan
Robert Dow Dunagan
Daniel Boone Dunagan
Stephen Reid Dunagan

Below is Stephen R. Dunagan's obituary published in 1936 and a photo of the family taken a few years earlier:


Click on to enlarge












I have always believed that heroes are born, not made. Stephen Reid Dunagan's descendants should be proud of their pioneer heritage and the men who were willing to fight in service of this great country. Ezekiel Dunagan fought in the War of 1812, his son Stephen Reid Dunagan, was a gallant calvary officer during the War of Northern Aggression, aka the Civil War. From the time this family set foot on these shores, Dunagan men and women have fought and served in every war that America has known since it's founding. Thomas "Tommie" Dunagan enlisted as a private in the Continental Army of North Carolina to fight for America's independence and his brother Joseph Dunagan, Ezekiel's father, served with the state militias fighting the British and in the Indian Wars.

Kern Wayne Dunagan is the son of Robert Dow Dunagan (standing in photo/light jacket) and Olive Vea Mize, grandson of Stephen R. Dunagan (1861-1936) and Delilah Ann Conner, great-grandson of Captain Stephen Reid Dunagan and Eliza Ann Turk Woode.

Captain Kern Dunagan received the Medal of Honor, this nation's highest honor, for his service as a U. S. Army officer in Vietnam. The medal was awarded "for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty."

Medal of Honor citation

Major Dunagan's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Maj. (then Capt.) Dunagan distinguished himself during the period May 13 and 14, 1969, while serving as commanding officer, Company A. On May 13, 1969, Maj. Dunagan was leading an attack to relieve pressure on the battalion's forward support base when his company came under intense fire from a well-entrenched enemy battalion. Despite continuous hostile fire from a numerically superior force, Maj. Dunagan repeatedly and fearlessly exposed himself in order to locate enemy positions, direct friendly supporting artillery, and position the men of his company. In the early evening, while directing an element of his unit into perimeter guard, he was seriously wounded during an enemy mortar attack, but he refused to leave the battlefield and continued to supervise the evacuation of dead and wounded and to lead his command in the difficult task of disengaging from an aggressive enemy. In spite of painful wounds and extreme fatigue, Maj. Dunagan risked heavy fire on 2 occasions to rescue critically wounded men. He was again seriously wounded. Undaunted, he continued to display outstanding courage, professional competence, and leadership and successfully extricated his command from its untenable position on the evening of May 14. Having maneuvered his command into contact with an adjacent friendly unit, he learned that a 6-man party from his company was under fire and had not reached the new perimeter. Maj. Dunagan unhesitatingly went back and searched for his men. Finding 1 soldier critically wounded, Maj. Dunagan, ignoring his wounds, lifted the man to his shoulders and carried him to the comparative safety of the friendly perimeter. Before permitting himself to be evacuated, he insured all of his wounded received emergency treatment and were removed from the area. Throughout the engagement, Maj. Dunagan's actions gave great inspiration to his men and were directly responsible for saving the lives of many of his fellow soldiers. Maj. Dunagan's extraordinary heroism above and beyond the call of duty, are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.[1]


Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Dr. Alpheus Benton Dunagan








Gainesville, Georgia was home to the "Eclectic Institute for All Chronic Diseases" during the health resorts' heyday in the 1870s and beyond. Founded by Dr. Alpheus Benton Dunagan who operated the institute and advertised as a specialty "the treatment and cure of all female diseases." Get on the Airline Railroad to Gainesville, and the institute would meet you at the depot, Dr. Dunagan advertised. Dr. Dunagan also published the Eclectic and Surgical Journal.

Alpheus Benton Dunagan(1835-1892) was a son of my 3rd great grandfather, Joseph Ellis Dunagan. Dr. A. B. Dunagan, as he was called, served with the 3rd Regiment, Georgia Calvary CSA, and was later married to Nancy Ophelia Bacon and had the following children:

Joseph Alexander "Claude" Dunagan (1877-1860)
George Alpheus Dunagan (1880-1957)
Ezekiel Jackson "Zeke" Dunagan (1887-1970)
James J. Dunagan (1890-1910)
Minnie Dunagan Ramsey (?)

Dr. A. B. Dunagan died in 1892 when he was working one Saturday evening with three of his sons who were picking cotton and A. B. left to go fix a foot-log across the creek where it had washed away. He got the log across, and it seemed, from the way he was lying, that he must have had the ax in his right hand resting on it when he fell. He did not move after falling. He died leaving a wife and five little children. It probably was a heart attack. Below is a photo of his three sons as adults who were with their father on that fateful evening in 1892:
(L-R) Claude Dunagan, Zeke Dunagan & George A. Dunagan



The photos in this blog were provided by Marie Dunagan Bowman, granddaughter to Alpheus Benton Dunagan. Her father was George Alpheus Dunagan. I have not been successful in finding a copy of the "Journal of Eclectic and Surgical Medicine" once published by Dr. Dunagan. If you know where I might find a copy, please let me know.

Jackson Pendleton Dunagan, Sr.









The photo above is Jackson Pendleton Dunagan, Sr., taken around 1910 in High Springs, FL. He was a son of William Abner Dunagan who moved his family from the hills of North Georgia (Hall County) to High Springs, FL, in 1892. William Abner Dunagan was the son of Ezekiel Jackson Dunagan and Lucinda Thompson, grandson of Ezekiel Dunagan and Lydia Ann Brown who settled the wilderness of North Georgia around 1790, building one of the early settlements in Georgia when the native American Indians were not all that welcoming to new settlers, especially the Creek Indians. These early Dunagans lived and traded among the Eastern Cherokee people and got along quite well.

William Abner Dunagan's wife was Anna Murphreesborough Gaines and her uncle was General Edmund Pendleton Gaines. When he returned to the Hall County area after having been south into North Florida fighting the Indian wars, he reported how beautiful the area was especially out by the Santa Fe River and springs. So in 1892, William Abner & his family decided to relocate there since he had the skills of installing and operating grist mills and saw mills. They were very successful for many years.

William Abner Dunagan and Anna M. Gaines had the following children:

Montine M Dunagan
Jackson Pendleton Dunagan
Erasmus Dunagan
Emily Lucinda Dunagan
Albina Dunagan
Nettie L Dunagan
Ruby Dunagan
Mamie M Dunagan
Oscar Leon Dunagan

Jackson Pendleton Dunagan, Sr.(1883-1963), in the photo above, with wife Aline R. Dunagan had a son named Jackson Pendleton Dunagan, Jr.(1916-1996) who married Grace N. Walker(1919-2002)

Friday, May 14, 2010

Kern Wayne Dunagan









Kern Wayne Dunagan (1934-1991) was born in Superior, AZ, son of Robert Dow Dunagan (1908-1973)/Stephen Reid Dunagan, Jr.(1861-1936) and Delilah Ann Conner/Stephen Reid Dunagan, Sr.(1827-1894) and Eliza Ann Turk Wood/Ezekiel Jackson Dunagan(1771-1836) and Margaret (Peggy) Wallace of Hall County, GA.

Medal of Honor citation

Major Dunagan's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Maj. (then Capt.) Dunagan distinguished himself during the period May 13 and 14, 1969, while serving as commanding officer, Company A. On May 13, 1969, Maj. Dunagan was leading an attack to relieve pressure on the battalion's forward support base when his company came under intense fire from a well-entrenched enemy battalion. Despite continuous hostile fire from a numerically superior force, Maj. Dunagan repeatedly and fearlessly exposed himself in order to locate enemy positions, direct friendly supporting artillery, and position the men of his company. In the early evening, while directing an element of his unit into perimeter guard, he was seriously wounded during an enemy mortar attack, but he refused to leave the battlefield and continued to supervise the evacuation of dead and wounded and to lead his command in the difficult task of disengaging from an aggressive enemy. In spite of painful wounds and extreme fatigue, Maj. Dunagan risked heavy fire on 2 occasions to rescue critically wounded men. He was again seriously wounded. Undaunted, he continued to display outstanding courage, professional competence, and leadership and successfully extricated his command from its untenable position on the evening of May 14. Having maneuvered his command into contact with an adjacent friendly unit, he learned that a 6-man party from his company was under fire and had not reached the new perimeter. Maj. Dunagan unhesitatingly went back and searched for his men. Finding 1 soldier critically wounded, Maj. Dunagan, ignoring his wounds, lifted the man to his shoulders and carried him to the comparative safety of the friendly perimeter. Before permitting himself to be evacuated, he insured all of his wounded received emergency treatment and were removed from the area. Throughout the engagement, Maj. Dunagan's actions gave great inspiration to his men and were directly responsible for saving the lives of many of his fellow soldiers. Maj. Dunagan's extraordinary heroism above and beyond the call of duty, are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.[1]





Lamar Plain Story

from: AMERICAL NEWSLETTER: VIETNAM NEWS NETWORK

Twelve Men Missing

By Rick Olson

This story is about a combat event that happened in May, 1969 in the area around the fire support base named LZ Professional. It is a reconstruction of events from declassified official records as well as the personal recollections of veterans from Americal units who were involved.

Sources include Americal Division after-action reports, 1/46 Infantry daily staff journals, the Operation Lamar Plain after-action report filed by the 101st Airborne Division, Medal of Honor documentation, and an August 1993 Vietnam Magazine article titled Recon Zone Alpha written by John Hayes.

US Infantry Battalion under Siege

On May 12, 1969, the North Vietnam Army (NVA) began a major offensive throughout the Americal Division area of operations at LZ’s Baldy, Center, and Professional. One of the most intense attacks occurred in the "free-fire zone" around LZ Professional patrolled by the 1/46 Infantry. The attack on LZ Professional escalated into a Tactical Emergency (TAC-E.) on May 15, 1969 when a full airmobile brigade of the 101st Airborne Division was dispatched into the area.

The 101st Airborne’s, 1st Brigade brought a force of two infantry battalions, the 2nd Squadron /17th Air Cav, teams of OH-6A “Loaches” armed with 7.65 mm miniguns, AH-1G Cobras (aerial rocket artillery), a 105mm Artillery battery, a company of UH-1 Hueys, and a section of CH-47 Chinooks and a team of Air Force forward controllers.

The 1/46 Inf. battalion was placed under the operational control (OPCON) of the 101st brigade, which was in-turn OPCON to the Americal Division. May 15 became the start of a joint Americal/101st Airborne effort named Operation Lamar Plain that continued until mid-August 1969.

From May 12 to the conclusion of Operation Lamar Plain, US casualties counted to 125 US KIA, 460 US WIA, and 1 US MIA. Most of these counts were sustained in intense combat during the month of May.

The Americal units directly affected were the 1/46th Infantry companies and C Battery, 1st/14th Arty, which maintained 105mm artillery atop LZ Professional. The 101st Airborne Division units directly affected were the infantry companies of two battalions, the 1st/501st Inf. and 1st/502 Inf., a helicopter assault unit, B Troop 2nd Squadron /17th Air Cavalry.

A massive show of NVA firepower and endurance

On a moonless night, at 0220 hours on May 12, 1969, LZ Professional, defended by Co. D, 1/46 Inf. and Btry. C, 1/14 Arty, was surprise attacked an NVA sapper unit from the V-16 NVA Sapper Battalion. On the morning after the attack the remains of twenty NVA sappers killed in action were left stranded in the perimeter line barbed wire.

The LZ received a continuous barrage of incoming mortar rounds and rocket fire from a recoilless on the adjacent hill 497. The intense incoming prevented carcasses of the dead NVA from being removed from the LZ’s perimeter wire. They were left to rot in the hot sun leaving a horrible smell and sight.

As the day wore on, conditions on LZ Professional had become severe. Any medical evacuation required significant air support to temporarily dowse incoming fire. Defense of the LZ required constant day and night air support, including the awesome firepower of AC-47 “Spooky “ fixed wing gunships circling the hill.

The NVA also set up a substantial battery in the area immediately surrounding the LZ. An estimated 15 to 20 anti-aircraft (12.7mm) positions which were strategically placed where two or more guns could fire simultaneously against aircraft. For several days, anything airborne near the LZ would face a virtual continuous wall of salvos. As an aircraft flew over the area it would be fired at from one or more NVA guns… and when it would move out of range of one NVA gun …another would begin firing from an adjoining position…and so on.

NVA anti-aircraft firepower was so effective that in the period of just a few days, it disabled most of the B, 2/17 Air Cav unit. On one day, the damage to B, 2/17 aircraft was so severe that only one helicopter of out of 28 aircraft was reported in flying condition. (For more information about 101st Airborne aircraft damage, refer to the “Recon Zone Alpha” article mentioned above.)

Overwhelming odds for A Co. 1st/46th Inf.

At the same time that LZ Professional was under heavy fire, NVA units from the 3rd Regiment, 2nd NVA Division stunned outnumbered 1/46th Infantry line companies fighting near the firebase. A severe attack began at 0810 hours on May 13, 1969 when the 3rd Battalion of the 3rd NVA Regiment (estimated to be 250 to 300 men) engaged Co. A, 1/46th Inf. and the attached E. Co. Recon platoon, a total US force of 91 men.

The battle continued for 35 hours.

On May 13, Co. A, under the command of Captain Kern T. Dunagan, was attempting to clear a high ground area immediately north of LZ Professional when the NVA engaged. Throughout the day, Co. A took intense fire. It was able to medevac out some wounded around noon.

By 1645 hours an emergency re-supply helicopter landed in the perimeter. Its assistant pilot was shot in the head and later declared KIA. At the same time, Dunagan was knocked flat on his back and seriously wounded with a mortar fragment in the jaw.

Under this attack, Dunagan was forced to pull his men into a defense position for the night. He assured that all dead and wounded were inside of the perimeter. For the rest of that day and night, any further medical evacuations for Co. A became impossible to accomplish.

On May 14, at 0530 hours, an AC-47 “Spooky” was diverted from the defense of LZ Professional to support Co. A. It enabled a medevac mission to evacuate 1 US KIA and 13 US WIA. Dunagan’s company was in still in serious trouble and faced great danger.

The enemy was reported to have behaved as if losses were unimportant. The NVA had moved in so close in proximity to Co. A that a US soldier’s ability to fire at the enemy was severely restricted in order to avoid hitting comrades.

Dunagan had correctly sensed that Co. A was being attacked by a major NVA force. He realized that he must again link up with the Echo Recon platoon which had been separated from his company. He personally began walking point for the company, which was highly unusual for a company commander. He established the link-up with the recon platoon by 0930 hours.

Cpt. Dunagan was wounded for a second time by AK 47 fire while he dragged a disabled soldier to safety. Despite his inability to speak clearly because of the jaw wound, Dunagan kept calling in air strikes.

The strikes delivered napalm and 500 pound bombs on enemy positions.

Co. C attempts a futile link-up with Co. A

At 1105 hours, Co. C, 1/46 Infantry was ordered to force march to the aid of Co. A and to link-up by 1500 hours. Co. C encountered intense mortar and automatic weapons fire and took numerous casualties. At one point a platoon of Co. C got to within 20-50 meters of Co. A, but could reach no further.

Dunagan tried to move his men closer to Co. C, but the first two men were cut down in the middle of a stream bed. The blood of the fallen men turned the flowing water red for fifty meters and was clearly visible to pilots of aircraft overhead. Dunagan made still another attempt to link-up with Co. C. Another enemy position opened up and his five lead men were quickly killed.

Realizing the futility of the attempted link-up, Dunagan dropped his pack and ordered his men to crawl back into the stream bed. At 1630 hours he realized that he had left the classified cipher gun to the KY-38 secure radio set in his pack.

Dunagan instantly recognized that the entire US Army radio security could have been compromised by the loss of this equipment. Despite his wounds and without hesitation he crawled back out into an open area under intense hostile fire and recovered the cipher gun.

His company’s casualties had risen to about one half of its men. The NVA continued an intense attack of mortar rounds and grenades. Co. A had to get out of its indefensible position by nightfall or risk loss of the entire unit.

At 1715 hours, Dunagan, through the Battalion Commander, LTC Underhill, made a desperate decision. He decided to utilize a smoke screen to enable his men to make a break across open rice paddies for Co. C’s. position 300 meters away.

Because of the intense attack that had been going on against LZ Professional, supporting artillery did not have enough HC smoke rounds on hand. It was necessary to use highly dangerous white phosphorous rounds to build up and maintain a sufficient screen.

The escape under smoke

Dunagan moved throughout his position and readied men to lighten loads and destroy any useful property. He demanded that no wounded be left behind. He gave directions and organized the men in groups around a man with a compass.

All of Co. C’s machine guns were given targets off the flanks of Co. A’s route of withdrawal. Gunships were directed to fire over the heads of the withdrawing company as the artillery smoke screen was laid.

It was immediately apparent there were not enough uninjured men left to carry both the wounded and the dead. Dunagan and LTC Underhill made the agonizing decision that the dead must be left.

After assuring all wounded men were assigned a carrying party and the smoke had been built up to sufficient density, Dunagan led his company out across the open rice paddy to the position of Co. C. The NVA sensed that Co. A was getting away and directed fire out across the open field. However, the smoke suppressed its effectiveness.

After almost all of the men were accounted for, it was discovered that a six man carrying party led by 1LT Tamantha (the FO) had been hit by a 155mm white phosphorous round. Upon learning of the situation, Dunagan, with complete disregard for his own life, ran back out into the rice paddy to assist in their recovery.

Dunagan found a badly wounded Sgt. Robert Tullos, a squad leader in the recon platoon, with a missing foot. He shoulder-carried Tullos back to safety, being forced to stop and rest along the way due to his own painful wounds. Upon returning with Tullos, Dunagan started to return to the rice paddy to bring back yet another missing man. He was stopped at the perimeter’s edge when it was determined the man had already been recovered.

At 1815 hours, medevac missions began. The last medevac was completed by 1845 hours. The Commanding Officer of Co. C, Lt. Walter Brownlee, had to force Dunagan to get on the last medevac chopper. Still in the bush were twelve men missing in action but all presumed dead

The Battalion Commander, LTC Underhill, had to order Dunagan to the hospital for medical treatment as Dunagan did not want to leave his troops. It was later determined that Dunagan’s jaw wound caused him to lose two teeth and numbed his face. His arm had bone splinters numbing his fingers and he had a hairline fracture of one of his ankles.

By the end of May 14, the field strength of the Co. A and the E-recon team had declined to a count of 47 men. On the next day, May 15, the Americal Division declared a Tactical Emergency.

Award of the Medal of Honor

Some fourteen months later, a memorandum was written documenting bits and pieces of information outlining the circumstances of what had happened with Dunagan’s unit. On July 20, 1970, a letter was sent to the HQ, US Army, Pacific, from Lt. Gen. William P. Yarborough, Deputy Commander in Chief. The letter contained one sentence: “Recommend approval of award of the Medal of Honor”. The award was for Cpt. Kern W. Dunagan, Commanding Officer of Alpha Co., 1st/46th Infantry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, for heroic action in May, 1969.

Witnesses to the action who were listed in the MOH

recommendation were: David A. Waltz, 1Lt, Co E, 1st/46th Inf.; Thomas N. Tamanaha, 1Lt., D Btry, 1/14th Arty; Joseph S. Dolock, 1Lt. Co. C., 1st/ 46th Inf.; Pete Gonzales, Psg.,Co. C. , 1st/ 46th Inf.; Brian P. Shaw, Sp/4, Co A., 1st/ 46th Inf.; Richard M. Belanger, Sp/4, HHC Co., 1st/ 46th Inf.; Walter W. Brownlee, 1Lt., Co. C., 1st/ 46th Inf.; and Roy J. Ginder, Major, USAF

The actions of Cpt. Dunagan were probably the most heroic of any single individual in this 1969 combat event. The predicament endured by Co. A was presumably the most severe of that endured by any unit involved in this fighting.

Many other units of the Americal and 101st Airborne also took significant casualties. Btry. C, 1/14th Artillery sustained serious losses, which reduced its ability to maintain artillery support, and necessitated its replacement on LZ Professional by Btry. B, 1/14th Artillery. The 1/501st Infantry companies were engaged in a savage day-long battle near LZ Professional on May 18th. Co. D, 1/46th took numerous losses on the perimeter of LZ Professional on May 12.

Unfortunately, all of the incidents happening to these and other units involved in May 1969 cannot be covered in this writing due to space constraints. However, their significance must not be understated.

Despite the TAC-E declaration, the insertion of an 101st Airborne force, the high US casualty counts, and the significant damage and destruction of US aircraft, this fierce combat episode was given only minor amounts of public news media coverage in 1969.

Another brigade of the 101st Airborne was engaged in the “Hamburger Hill” battle at almost the same time. The more famous “Hamburger Hill” battle had significant news coverage and some of it was very visibly negative due to high numbers of US casualties. Speculation existed that the 101st was reluctant to take additional unfavorable publicity and it discouraged or diverted news coverage of the Operation Lamar Plain story.

Perhaps, in time, we may learn even more of the background of what was happening to all of us who were involved in this intense event some 30 years ago in May 1969.

Rick Olson
Sp4, D Co. 1/46th Infantry

"Tour" Oct 68-Oct 69 counts, and the significant damage and destruction of US aircraft, this fierce combat episode was given only minor amounts of public news media coverage in 1969.Another brigade of the 101st Airborne was engaged in the “Hamburger Hill” battle at almost the same time. The more famous “Hamburger Hill” battle had significant news coverage and some of it was very visibly negative due to high numbers of US casualties. Speculation existed that the 101st was reluctant to take additional unfavorable publicity and it discouraged or diverted news coverage of the Operation Lamar Plain story.Perhaps, in time, we may learn even more of the background of what was happening to all of us who were involved in this intense event some 30 years ago in May 1969.Rick Olson
Sp4, D Co. 1/46th Infantry
"Tour" Oct 68-Oct 69

Monday, May 10, 2010

Ezekiel's Children and Spouses

Ezekiel Dunagan (1771-1836) d. Hall County, GA/married Lydia Ann Brown in 1792 and had the following children:

Joseph Ellis Dunagan (1793-1861) d. Illinois/married Lucinda(Lucy) Beall
Benjamin Black Dunagan (1795-1884)/married Eusaba Floyd (m. 1852) Martha J. Thompson (m. 1866)
Susannah Dunagan (1797-1857 )/married John Gilmer
John D. Dunagan
(1799-1857) d. Whitfield County, GA/married Martha Harlan
Abner Dunagan (1802-1850) d. Harris County, GA/married Amanda Rowe
Anna Dunagan (1804-1857) d.
Marshall County, AL/married James Jarrett McCleskey
Delilah B. Dunagan
(1806-1888) d. Harris County, GA/married Alexander John Gordon
Isaiah Dunagan
(1808-1880) d. Hall County, GA/married Susannah Eberhardt
Ezekiel Jackson Dunagan (1811-1881) d. Hall County, GA/married Lucinda Thompson
Andrew Foster Dunagan
(1813- )/married Martha Angelina Watkins
Elizabeth Caroline (Betsy) Dunagan (1816-1907) d. Hall Co., GA/married David Griffith Eberhardt
Louisa B. Dunagan
(1818-1893) d. Pleasant Valley, AK/married William Graham
James Reid Dunagan (1821-1900) d. Hall County, GA/married Mary Aveline Buffington

Ezekiel Dunagan married Margaret (Peggy) Wallace, his 2nd wife, in 1825 and had the following children:


Sophie Elizabeth Dunagan (1826-1886 )/married William Alexander Thompson
Stephen Reid Dunagan (1827-1894 ) d. Lordsburg, NM/married Eliza Ann Tuck Wood
Daniel C. Dunagan (1829-1880)d. Fresno, CA/married Lucy Walton
Levi Jefferson Dunagan (1831-1906 ) d. Dewey, OK/married Sophia Esther Langford
George Washington Dunagan (1833-1871 ) d. Hood, TX/married Martha Elizabeth Wood
Mary Jane Dunagan (1835-1916 ) d. Duncan, AZ/married James Rhea McCleskey

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Lila Diane Sawyer


I had heard over the years that we, Dunagans, are related to Diane Sawyer of ABC, CBS, 60 Minutes, 20/20, Co-anchor Good Morning America(GMA) fame. Often people like to claim to be related to famous people but I never took it very seriously until recently. I received in the mail a genealogical newsletter, Dunnagans of All Spellings from Dick Dunagan. On page 3 there was a short article called "Looking For Diane's Story" and a newspaper clipped photo copy showing Diane Sawyer standing with her family in Wayne County, KY, after attending the funeral of her grandmother Nora Bell Dunagan in 1982. Well, I became intrigued....and this is what I found.

Born Lila Diane Sawyer in Glasgow, Kentucky, Sawyer is the daughter of Jean Wray Dunagan, an elementary school teacher, and Erbon Powers "Tom" Sawyer, a judge. Soon after her birth, her family moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where her father rose to local prominence as a Republican politician and community leader; he was Kentucky's Jefferson County Judge/Executive when he was killed in a car accident on Louisville's Interstate 64 in 1969. E. P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park, located in the Frey's Hill area of Louisville, is named in his honor.

Sawyer attended Seneca High School in the Buechel area of Louisville. In 1963, she won the "America's Junior Miss" scholarship pageant as a representative from the State of Kentucky. In 1967, she received a bachelor of arts degree with a major in English from Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She attended one semester of law school at the University of Louisville before turning to journalism. Sawyer then became a local television news reporter and weather girl for WLKY-TV in Louisville.

In 1970, White House Press Secretary Ron Ziegler hired her to serve in the administration of U.S. President Richard Nixon. Sawyer continued through Nixon's resignation from the presidency in 1974 and worked on the Nixon-Ford transition team in 1974–1975, after which she decamped with Nixon to California and helped him write his memoirs, published in 1978. She also helped prepare Nixon for his famous set of television interviews with journalist David Frost in 1977. The rest is in the history books.

Well it turns out that there is a family connection. Diane's 5th great grandfather was Thomas "Tommy" Dunagan born around 1744 in Orange County, North Carolina. He served as a Pvt. in the Revolutionary War from NC from Apr 25 1776 until he was mustered out on January 1778. Thomas "Tommy" Dunagan was a brother to My 5th great grandfather Joseph Dunagan.

Thomas "Tommy" Dunagan married a Martha "Patsy" (last name unknown) and they had a son named Isaac who was born around 1765 in Orange County, NC but as an adult later moved to Wayne County, KY, died around 1822. Isaac married Mary "Polly" West and had a son named Solomon. Solomon married two women, 1st. wife was Elizabeth Turpin, 2nd wife was Sarah "Sally" Fox with whom he had a son named Solomon Henry Harrison Dunagan born April 28, 1841.

Solomon Henry Harrison Dunagan married Mary Matilda Lovell of Wayne County, KY on November 11, 1860. (Feth)Lafayette Dunagan was born from this union on July 9, 1868. Lafayette is Diane Sawyer's great grandfather. He married Mary Alta Weaver on December 25, 1888, in Wayne County, KY.

Lafayette and Mary "Alta" had a son they named Foxie B. Dunagan born around 1891. Foxie married Nora Bell Roberts and this is the grandmother whose funeral Diane attended in 1982 in Wayne County, KY. I wish I knew what the initial B stands for in Foxie's name.

Foxie and Nora Bell Dunagan's daughter is Jean Wray Dunagan, Diane's mother.

(Click on to enlarge)

Picture below: Foxie Dunagan is third person from left on back row standing with hand on hip wearing overalls and hat. (photo taken circa 1911)




Sources: Various/Ancestry.com/Dunnagans Of All Spellings Issue 2009 published by Dick Dunagan/Newspaper article/photo from Hatha Dunagan Dodge

Friday, January 29, 2010

Thursday, January 28, 2010

John Park Dunagan


JOHN D. DUNAGAN was born August 06, 1799 in Hall County, Georgia, the 4th child of Ezekiel and Lydia Ann Brown Dunagan and was John Park Dunagan's grandfather. He died Abt. 1856 in Whitfield, Georgia. He married MARTHA HARLAN Abt. 1828 in Jackson County, Georgia, daughter of VALENTINE HARLAN and MILDRED SNOW. She was born March 12, 1811 in Jackson County, Georgia, and died August 16, 1860 in Whitfield, Georgia.

Children of JOHN DUNAGAN and MARTHA HARLAN are:

ADELINE DUNAGAN, b. January 11, 1829.

BENJAMIN SANFORD DUNAGAN, b. March 24, 1830.

HARLAN DUNAGAN, b. July 07, 1831.

ELIZABETH DUNAGAN, b. February 12, 1832.

JOHN BRICE DUNAGAN, b. July 14, 1833, Whitfield County, Georgia; d. March 01, 1900, Catoosa County, Georgia.

GEORGE WASHINGTON DUNAGAN, b. June 27, 1835.

MARTHA DUNAGAN, b. Abt. 1837, Whitfield County, Georgia.

LOUISA JANE DUNAGAN, b. February 22, 1837.

JACKSON DUNAGAN, b. June 23, 1840, Whitfield County, Georgia.

JOSHUA DUNAGAN, b. Abt. 1842.

JOSEPHINE DUNAGAN, b. November 15, 1844, Whitfield County, Georgia.

MARY PALESTINE DUNAGAN, b. Abt. 1848.

SAMUEL DUNAGAN, b. Abt. 1850, Jackson County, Georgia.

LENORA DUNAGAN, b. Abt. 1852, Whitfield County, Georgia.

JOHN BRICE DUNAGAN was born July 14, 1833 in Whitfield County, Georgia, and died March 01, 1900 in Catoosa County, Georgia. He married first wife SARAH JARRETT ALEXANDER. She was born Abt. 1833. He married second wife MARYETTA BABB. She was born Abt. 1833.

Children of JOHN DUNAGAN and SARAH ALEXANDER are:

JOSEPH DUNAGAN, b. Abt. 1866, Catoosa County, Georgia.

CHARLES DUNAGAN.

JOHN PARK DUNAGAN

ROBERT LEE DUNAGAN.

MATTIE LEE DUNAGAN.

MARY DUNAGAN.


Children of JOHN BRICE DUNAGAN and MARYETTA BABB are:

THOMAS DUNAGAN.

LEWIS DUNAGAN.


John Park Dunagan was born July 30, 1868, in Chickamauga, Georgia. His parents were John Brice Dunagan and Sara Alexander (daughter of John P. Alexander and Elizabeth Caldwell Tate).

John Park Dunagan attended Coosawatte Seminary, Cheyne, Georgia. On the completion of his education, he left Georgia for Texas and settled at Veal Station in Parker County, near Weatherford, Texas. He farmed and taught math at a college there where he met Louvenia Ann Campbell. They were married on November 13, 1892, and lived in Veal Station until 1903 before moving to Olney in Young County, Texas. They traveled by covered wagon when they moved their young family to Olney. They already had 6 children, had lost one child at 8 months old and Louvenia Ann was pregnant with their 7th. child.

John Park and Louvenia Ann Dunagan had 11 children before John Park died July 3, 1948. Below is a photo of the surviving children circa 1950s taken in Olney, Texas. From left to right in order of age Roy, Joe, Bess, Ruby, Johnnie, Bert, Erma Lucille, Pearl and Leta.








Sources: Various/Dunagans Of All Spellings Issue #20/May 2002. Dick Dunagan

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Dunagan Family Indian Heritage

Submitted by Darline Dunagan Scruggs

My second great grandmother was Frances Samanthra Bryant who married John Franklin Dunagan in 1854. She was born in 1835 in Hall county, GA, died 3 Jun 1933 in Jackson County, GA.

Frances Samanthra Bryant Dunagan was the daughter of Jeter Bryant and Sarah Frost. According to a deposition recorded July 7, 1908, in Gainesville, GA, by two of her sisters, Sarah Bryant Dunagan and Sofronia Bryant Latham, both Bryant sisters testified that their maternal great grandmother was a full blooded Eastern Cherokee Indian. Incidentally, Sarah Bryant had also married a Dunagan man, Ezekiel Dunagan, brother to John Franklin Dunagan, sons of Joseph Ellis Dunagan, State Senator from Hall County, GA, for 23 consecutive years.

The two sisters were applying for compensation from the Federal Government based on documented blood lines of Eastern Cherokee Indians who had been promised compensation for the lands taken in the treaty of 1835 which of course resulted in the removal of the Cherokees from Georgia.

Below is a copy of the depositions made by Sofronia and Sarah:

(click on to enlarge)