John A. Deaver

The Reverend John Alexander Deaver became pastor of the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Jackson Tennessee in 1914. He became involved with the Army YMCA in 1917.  He enlisted 15 June 1918 and was commissioned as a Chaplain (1st Lieutenant) in the National Army on 5 July 1918.   He was one of only eight Cumberland Presbyterian chaplains in the army.  He sailed for France from New York on the SS Minnekanda on 21 July 1918. Upon arrival he was assigned to the 61st Infantry Regiment of the 9th Infantry Brigade of the 5th Division.   The 61st Regiment took over the Bois-de-Rppes Sector in the Meuse-Argonne on 12 October. The 61st Regiment moved into the front line on 13 October. Chaplain Deaver was killed at 0500 hours on 13 October while moving to front with the 3rd Battalion of the 61st.

              Chaplain Deaver received the Purple Heart. He is buried at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in France. In 1920 the Cumberland Presbyterian Church named its new mission to Columbia South America the "John A. Deaver Mission", a name it still retains. A monument to his memory was erected in his home town of Cleveland Alabama in 1929.

Thomas Jefferson Murray Junior served as a Member of the House of Representatives from 1943 to 1966