HONORED ON PANEL 2E, LINE 112 OF THE WALL
LEON G HOLTON
WALL NAME
LEON G HOLTON
PANEL / LINE
2E/112
DATE OF BIRTH
CASUALTY PROVINCE
DATE OF CASUALTY
HOME OF RECORD
COUNTY OF RECORD
STATE
BRANCH OF SERVICE
RANK
REMEMBRANCES
LEFT FOR LEON G HOLTON
POSTED ON 12.1.2003
POSTED BY: Steven D. Lowther
A Fellow Vanguard
Leon Holton was a great man. It has been a thrill to have met his family and become part of it.
Steve
Steve
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POSTED ON 10.27.2003
POSTED BY: Emily Ringger
Thank You
Dear Leon,
I am a sophomore at Gridley High School, Gridley, Illinois. For my history class we were assigned to post remembrances for those that have died serving our country. I would like to tell you that I am proud of your bravery you have shown toward our country. I am very grateful for your time and effort that you have out forth.
Thank you and God bless!
Emily Ringger
I am a sophomore at Gridley High School, Gridley, Illinois. For my history class we were assigned to post remembrances for those that have died serving our country. I would like to tell you that I am proud of your bravery you have shown toward our country. I am very grateful for your time and effort that you have out forth.
Thank you and God bless!
Emily Ringger
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POSTED ON 7.5.1999
POSTED BY: Patrick Holton
Man of Honor
Leon Gershon Holton was born on May 16, 1938, in Coffee County, Georgia, the son of Denton E. Holton and Ruby Spivey Holton. Dr. J.W. Wallace was the attending physician. Roy L. Johnson, local registrar, filed the birth certificate on May 29, 1938. His family lived in Norfolk, Virginia during World War II, where his father was employed in the Navy Shipyard as a welder. The family returned to South Georgia in 1946. Gershon was one of seven children. He was the third child, and second son, with four sisters and two brothers. Gershon, as he was known to family and friends, resided in the Satilla Community where he attended public school.
In 1955, Gershon enlisted in the Georgia National Guard. In the spring of 1958, he attended the U.S. Army's Non-Commissioned Officer's Course and in November of that year he entered Active Duty. In 1962, Gershon graduated from the U.S. Army's Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry by the President of the United States.
As a faith pledge, he promised that if he graduated, he would place a bulletin board in front of the West Ward Street Church of God in Douglas, Georgia; which he did promptly upon graduation. When the church was remodeled; a new bulletin board was erected in his memory, and still bears his name inscribed in stone.
He married Helen (Skippy) Schellman, daughter of General & Mrs. Robert Schellman in Fort Riley, Kansas on September 26, 1964. He and his bride went on a honeymoon trip to Boston, Massachusetts, where they visited China Town among other sites of interest.
In June of 1965, he received orders to deploy with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment of the First Infantry Division, nicknamed "The Big Red One", to the Republic of Vietnam. He arrived there on July 12, 1965. According to letters written to family and friends, Gershon was very proud of his unit and believed they were fighting for a worthy cause.
On October 9, 1965, the family of Lt. Holton was notified by a telegram from Major General J.C. Lambert, the Army's Adjutant General, that 1st Lt. Leon Gershon Holton had been killed in action the preceding day, as a result of wounds inflicted by grenade and small arms fire while on a search and destroy mission.
General Robert Schellman, father-in-law, also expressed sympathy to the Holton family by letter dated October 9, 1965. He stated: "I have heard first hand of the fine officer your son was. Those who worked with him admired his dedication to duty and his professional competence. Like all good soldiers, Leon demanded much of himself, was extremely proud of his unit and always placed the comfort and needs of his men ahead of his own. Although we do not at this time know the circumstances of his final mission, we can be sure that Leon was giving his full measure as he always did to the task assigned him. In the pain of your great loss you can take rare solace in the example of American manhood and leadership set by Leon. You can be assured that his death is not in vain because of his example which will endure in the hearts and minds of the young men priviledged to have known and served with him."
Gershon's body was returned within the week of his death, to Sims Funeral Home in Douglas, Georgia; where funeral services were conducted and he was buried in The Douglas Cemetery on October 14, 1965.
On May 16, 1998, the bridge that spans Twenty-Nine Mile Creek on the Old Axson Highway, was dedicated by the Coffee County Commissioners and named "Lt. Gershon Holton Bridge". The Memorial Bridge is located in the Satilla Community where Gershon spent most of his childhood, attended school, was an outstanding Boy Scout and had many friends. Gershon is also memorialised as the first Coffee Countian to be killed in action in the Vietnam Conflict. His name is inscribed on the Veterans Killed in Action Memorial at the Coffee County Courthouse, Douglas, Georgia
An inscribed brick bearing Gershon's name is placed at the Veteran's Park, located at The Douglas Airport, Douglas, Georgia.
In 1955, Gershon enlisted in the Georgia National Guard. In the spring of 1958, he attended the U.S. Army's Non-Commissioned Officer's Course and in November of that year he entered Active Duty. In 1962, Gershon graduated from the U.S. Army's Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry by the President of the United States.
As a faith pledge, he promised that if he graduated, he would place a bulletin board in front of the West Ward Street Church of God in Douglas, Georgia; which he did promptly upon graduation. When the church was remodeled; a new bulletin board was erected in his memory, and still bears his name inscribed in stone.
He married Helen (Skippy) Schellman, daughter of General & Mrs. Robert Schellman in Fort Riley, Kansas on September 26, 1964. He and his bride went on a honeymoon trip to Boston, Massachusetts, where they visited China Town among other sites of interest.
In June of 1965, he received orders to deploy with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment of the First Infantry Division, nicknamed "The Big Red One", to the Republic of Vietnam. He arrived there on July 12, 1965. According to letters written to family and friends, Gershon was very proud of his unit and believed they were fighting for a worthy cause.
On October 9, 1965, the family of Lt. Holton was notified by a telegram from Major General J.C. Lambert, the Army's Adjutant General, that 1st Lt. Leon Gershon Holton had been killed in action the preceding day, as a result of wounds inflicted by grenade and small arms fire while on a search and destroy mission.
General Robert Schellman, father-in-law, also expressed sympathy to the Holton family by letter dated October 9, 1965. He stated: "I have heard first hand of the fine officer your son was. Those who worked with him admired his dedication to duty and his professional competence. Like all good soldiers, Leon demanded much of himself, was extremely proud of his unit and always placed the comfort and needs of his men ahead of his own. Although we do not at this time know the circumstances of his final mission, we can be sure that Leon was giving his full measure as he always did to the task assigned him. In the pain of your great loss you can take rare solace in the example of American manhood and leadership set by Leon. You can be assured that his death is not in vain because of his example which will endure in the hearts and minds of the young men priviledged to have known and served with him."
Gershon's body was returned within the week of his death, to Sims Funeral Home in Douglas, Georgia; where funeral services were conducted and he was buried in The Douglas Cemetery on October 14, 1965.
On May 16, 1998, the bridge that spans Twenty-Nine Mile Creek on the Old Axson Highway, was dedicated by the Coffee County Commissioners and named "Lt. Gershon Holton Bridge". The Memorial Bridge is located in the Satilla Community where Gershon spent most of his childhood, attended school, was an outstanding Boy Scout and had many friends. Gershon is also memorialised as the first Coffee Countian to be killed in action in the Vietnam Conflict. His name is inscribed on the Veterans Killed in Action Memorial at the Coffee County Courthouse, Douglas, Georgia
An inscribed brick bearing Gershon's name is placed at the Veteran's Park, located at The Douglas Airport, Douglas, Georgia.
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