On this year's Medal of Honor Day, I'd like to present the men with a relationship to Jackson County that have received our nation's highest military honor. Some were born here. Others came here after their respective conflicts had ended.
Should you follow the links to their respective profiles, you will find dramatically different actions that qualified each man performed that led to their being awarded the Medal of Honor. I find the actions of SSgt James Bondsteel to be of particular note.
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| Jackson County (MI) Medal of Honor Monument |
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| Jackson County (MI) Medal of Honor Monument - Detail |
Jackson County veterans dedicated our Medal of Honor monument almost a decade ago on Veteran's Day of 2011. At the time, Blackman Township was looking to rename the former Holiday Inn Drive due to the fact that the Holiday Inn structure had been sold and renamed with the new Holiday Inn being located a few miles away. The decision to rename the road as Bondsteel Drive was not universally well-received. One business located on the road objected and on the day of the dedication refused to allow veterans to use their parking lot for the half-hour ceremony.
The four men currently honored on the monument are:
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| William H. Withington |
William H. Withington led one of the first contingents of volunteers to respond to Abraham Lincoln's call for units to serve in the Civil War. Capt. Withington fought at the First Battle of Bull Run where he saved a fallen Union general and was taken captive. After being released in a prisoner exchange, Withington returned to Michigan and enlisted in the 17th Michigan Infantry as a Colonel and fought in three major Civil War battles. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions at Bull Run.
Withington is of particular note in Jackson's history. He was an industrialist that formed and ran many companies. The most significant company would eventually be named the Sparton Corporation after Withington and later company executive William Sparks. The company left Jackson in 2009.
Withington is honored in the area by the city's football field (Withington Community Stadium) as well as a city park that is home to the county's veterans memorial (Withington Park).
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| Frederick A. Lyon |
As a Corporal in the US Army, Federick Lyon halted an ambulance that was part of a general Confederate retreat from the battle of Cedar Creek. The ambulance happened to be transporting Confederate General Stephen Ramseur and two other officers. He and a fellow soldier took the group along with the regimental colors prisoner and returned them to the Union side.
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| Edwin F. Savacool |
Captain Savacool fought in the last major battle of the Civil War at Sailor's Creek, VA. He was one of many who captured the battle colors (and thus the command) of Confederate Units on that day. He was wounded during the fighting and died nearly two months later. The Jackson native was originally interred in Marshall, MI but his remains were later relocated to Detroit. You can read more about Captain Savacool's interesting history here.
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| James Bondsteel |
SSgt Bondsteel was serving with Company A, 2nd Bn, 2nd Infantry, 1st Infantry Div in Vietnam when his unit was called to support another unit that was under fire from an NVA battalion. During the action, SSgt Bondsteel personally destroyed ten enemy bunkers and one machine gun emplacement. He was wounded during the four-hour action yet still came to the aid of a wounded officer. SSgt. Bondsteel refused medical treatment and continued to organize and lead his unit until they were properly relieved.
After the service, Jim Bondsteel became a counselor for the Veterans Administration. He was killed in a logging truck accident in Alaska where his remains were interred. He is honored with a memorial at the Alaska Veterans Memorial in the Denali State Park and with the naming of Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo.
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| Alaska Veterans Memorial Marker |
His life was recalled in a 2018 article in the Hillsdale (MI) Daily News. He is also remembered on a personal website.
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