Johnnie Shoffner, Route 2, La Follette, Tennessee, son of Adron and Minnie Chadwell Shoffner, was born in Campbell County, Tennessee on June 8, 1921.
He spent his childhood and his youth in and around what is called the Sugar Hollow and Shoffner Hollow which is a rural community a few miles south of La Follette, Tennessee. On July 8, 1940, when he was a little past 19 years of age, he applied for enlistment in the United States Army at the office of Robert M. Hicks and was sworn into the Military Service and was stationed for a time at Fort Jackson, SC. He sailed for foreign service from Camp Kilmer, NJ, December 5, 1943, for the European Theater of Operations. He was wounded very seriously at Brest, France in a battle with the forces of Germany on August 27, 1944 when he was little more than 23 years of age. He was returned to the United States as a casualty and landed November 22, 1944 and was a patient at Thayer General Hospital White Bridge Road (see picture below), Nashville, Tennessee until October 16, 1945 which made him a patient in the various army hospitals for one year one month and twenty-four days, he then being discharged from the Army October 16, 1945 from a wound he received in France from which he was a cripple the rest of his life. He was a brave soldier and an ambitious personality. And he bravely endured his suffering with little complaint until his spine grew so weak that he had an attack of spinal traumatic caused by this wound and at 8:45 PM, Saturday, July 3, 1948 he passed to the other world, his age being 27 years and 25 days. He served in the Armed Forces of the United States of America for a total of three (3) years and five (5) months. His death being caused his wound is equal to that of falling in battle.
He leaves to mourn his passing his wife, Charlise Davis Shoffner, his infant daughter Judith Dianne Shoffner, his father Adron Shoffner and his mother Minnie Shoffner all of Route 2, LaFollette, and his sister Gladys Shoffner Mowell of Knoxville, Tennessee, and brothers Jay and Howard Shoffner of Ohio all which are present today, he also leaves his aged grandfather, Berry Shoffner Sr., and 32 uncles and aunts and a great number of relatives and many friends.
On the date Johnnie Shoffner and his brother Clyde K. Shoffner came into the office of Robert M. Hicks to apply for enlistment in the army with their father present, the boys made a request that a letter be written that the two boys stay together for the period of their enlistment in the army. The letter was written as they requested, and the War Department granted the request and lived up to its promise until one day Johnnie was wounded as was above and then another day a heavy truck struck Clyde, his brother, and February 18, 1945, Clyde bid Johnnie goodbye and passed into a new world, thus bringing to a close the lifelong brotherhood of these fine young soldiers, we see here the power of death to break the agreement of nation to two young men. The only thing that could unite the two brothers again was death and now death by the infinite wisdom of God has reunited the two brothers, and they are now together.
Johnnie Shoffner was a fine young man and had a good word for everyone whom he knew. He loved his mother and father and was obedient to them. He often spoke of dying and recently has advised relatives and friends of much of the way he wanted his funeral carried out. God must have warned him of the call of death, it is a sure sign if we are warned, we will pray. Johnnie was loved in the community in which he lived. He was a fine soldier, a good citizen, and honorable son and a loving husband to his wife and a good father to his child.
He will be missed by his many comrades and friends, a link has been broken in the family chain that cannot again in this world be reunited. Let us look to God our Father and to our loving Savior for comfort and say, “One precious to our hearts has gone, the voice we loved is stilled, the vacancy in our home can never more be filled.”
Below picture of the four brothers : Johnnie on the far left, Clyde, second from left, Jay, third from left, and Howard on the far right. Picture of three: Johnnie in the middle.
- Rank: Sergeant
- Date of birth: 6 August 1921
- Date of death: 3 July 1948
- County: Campbell
- Hometown: La Follette
- Service Branch: Army/Army Air Forces
- Division/Assignment: 13th Infantry
- Theater: Western Europe
- Conflict: World War II
- Battles: Normandy Campaign
- Awards: Purple Heart
- Burial/Memorial Location: Bakers Forge Memorial Cemetery, Demory, Campbell County
- Location In Memorial: Pillar VII, Middle Panel
- Contact us to sponsor Johnnie E. Shoffner
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