Clemson University - Clemson University

John Harold Lightsey

War: World War II

Class: 1940

Major: B.S. in Agronomy

Activities while at Clemson: Literary Society, Animal Husbandry Club, “Tiger” magazine, Vice President Kappa Alpha Sigma

Home Town: Fairfax, South Carolina

Service: Army

Rank: Captain

Unit: Company G, 322nd Infantry Battalion, 81st Division

Date of Death: September 28, 1944

Details of Death: Killed in Action in the South Pacific on the Island of Angaur, Palau.

Awards / Citations: Silver Star

Married / Children: Wife Mary Janie Phillips one daughter Janice

Personal remembrances and tributes:

Captain Lightsey of Fairfax Killed in Pacific Area

Extracts from Individual Deceased Personnel File

Body was taken to Failfax, VA from New York by train on the PA railroad

Buried at Fairway Cemetery in Allendale, SC

Killed in action September 28 on Palau. Captain Lightsey was a 1940 graduate of Clemson College.

While cleaning out a storage area at my home I found boxes of old photos from my parents. One of the photos is a 8 x 20 of Company G 322^nd. I have looked closely at the photograph and I believe that Captain John Harold Lightsey is in this photo. The man I think is Captain Lightsey very closely resembles the picture of him on the web site in his uniform. My father, Tate Stewart, was in this group. I remember seeing this picture when I was a child and my father told me that everyone in the picture except 1-2 dozen men were killed in action. The other 1-2 dozen men were transferred to Alaska/Canada to participate in a joint American-Canadian exercises preparing for a mission into Germany. I have several photos of my father in Alaska and Canada during the exercises. I remember him becoming part of the paratroopers and trained at Fort Benning Georgia too. This photo may have been taken while stationed in Michigan. My father died in 1994 so I cannot be 100% sure if what I remember from 50 years ago is correct. I have attached a close-up of the picture. In the picture 1^st from the left on the 2^nd row is who I believe to be Captain Lightsey. My father, Tate Stewart, is sitting in front, first on the right. Mark Stewart

Company G, 322nd Infantry Battalion