Jack Llewellyn Knight
Cool Community, Parker County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Born on a farm near Garner (4 miles north) Jack L. Knight enlisted in the Texas National Guard in 1940. Mobilized for service during World War II, his unit was posted to Southeast Asia to help open the Burma Road between India and China. During one of the last battles in that region, Knight was killed while leading an attack on a Japanese position. Four months later, he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the only one awarded for the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations. In 1949 he was buried in this cemetery named for his great-grandfather. (1990)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A farm boy from near Garner, Jack L. Knight joined the Texas National Guard in 1940 and shipped out with his unit to the far side of the world when World War II erupted. Fighting to reopen the Burma Road, the vital overland supply line into China, he was killed while leading an assault on a Japanese position. His valor earned a posthumous Medal of Honor — the only one awarded in the entire China-Burma-India Theater — and he now rests in the cemetery named for his own great-grandfather.
Why it matters
Knight's sacrifice honors the often-overlooked China-Burma-India campaign and the way small-town Americans carried the weight of a global war.
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Related people
- · Jack Llewellyn Knight
Related events
- · World War II
- · China-Burma-India campaign
Themes & tags
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