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Honoring The Story Of “Bones Of My Grandfather”

Marine 1st Lt. Alexander Bonnyman, Jr.
contributed by Clay Bonnyman Evans
Marine 1st Lt. Alexander Bonnyman, Jr.

On Monday - Memorial Day - the Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center here in Chattanooga added a new exhibit: a permanent installation on Alexander Bonnyman, Jr.

The Marine Corps officer - who grew up in Knoxville - was killed in the Pacific during World War II.

He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart - but his remains were recovered only within the past decade.

Clay Bonnyman Evans - his grandson - chronicles the search for those remains in his book, “Bones of My Grandfather.”

Clay Bonnyman Evans atop "Bonnyman's Bunker," where his grandfather was killed on November 22, 1943.
Clay Bonnyman Evans
Clay Bonnyman Evans atop "Bonnyman's Bunker," where his grandfather was killed on November 22, 1943.

I spoke with Clay when he visited Chattanooga a few days ago for the unveiling of the Medal of Honor exhibit.

Cover of “Bones of My Grandfather”
Simon & Schuster
Cover of “Bones of My Grandfather”

For more about the Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center here in Chattanooga, visit mohhc.org.

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