Spurlins in the World Wars
Five Army soldiers surnamed Spurlin, from Alabama, Arizona, North Carolina and Texas, appear on the War Department's 1946 lists of World War II dead. Two are buried in American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries in Italy and the Philippines.
Sourcing: strong 5 government · 7 reference
This article gathers people surnamed Spurlin who appear in public records of the two world wars. Most are soldiers who died in service in World War II. The main sources are the War Department's 1946 state honor lists of Army dead and missing, which the National Archives has put online, and the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) burial database. Honor States, a private archive of American Gold Star veterans, adds details.[1][2][3]
World War I
An honor roll erected in 1940 on the courthouse lawn in Columbus, Indiana, lists the Bartholomew County residents who served in 1917–1918. It includes Allen Ray Spurlin, whose name is not marked with the star used for those who died.[4] In September 2026 an ABMC search for the surname returned no World War I burials or memorials.[2] An Honor States search for the surname likewise returned no World War I entries.[3]
World War II dead
In 1946 the War Department published, state by state, a World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel. The lists arrange soldiers by county and give each one's serial number, rank and type of casualty, but not a birthplace or residence.[1] Five Spurlins appear in them:
- Jesse C. Spurlin, listed under Maricopa County, Arizona: first sergeant, serial number 6281454, died of wounds.[5] Honor States gives his unit as the 62nd Armored Field Artillery Battalion and his casualty date as August 19, 1943.[6] The ABMC database lists him at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery at Nettuno, Italy.[2] Honor States gives the grave as Plot E, Row 4, Grave 6.[6]
- Romie L. Spurlin, listed under Alleghany County, North Carolina: private first class, 34118922, killed in action.[7] Honor States gives his unit as the 158th Infantry Regiment and his casualty date as May 28, 1944.[8] He is buried at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines, in Plot D, Row 7, Grave 84, according to Honor States; the ABMC database confirms the cemetery.[8][2] See Spurlins of Ashe and Alleghany Counties, North Carolina.
- Roy F. Spurlin, listed under Pike County, Alabama: private, 34817314, killed in action, according to the 1946 list.[1] His Honor States profile differs on all three points. It gives him as a corporal with service number 34817301 who "died non-battle."[9]
- William C. Spurlin, listed under Covington County, Alabama: private first class, 34817511, killed in action.[1] Honor States gives the same rank, number and casualty type.[10]
- William D. Spurlin, listed under Lampasas County, Texas: corporal, 6289429, died of wounds.[11] Honor States agrees.[12]
Honor States also lists medals for each man. It warns that for some awards it uses "probability factors based on known service details," so its award lists are not service records.[6]
The 1946 lists cover only Army and Army Air Forces personnel.[1] Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard dead are not included in them and were not researched for this article.
Other records
The ABMC database also has Federick William Spurlin, a U.S. Navy veteran who died on January 21, 2011. He is buried at the Corozal American Cemetery in Panama (Plot I, Row 2, Grave 64); the database lists no war for him.[2]
For Carl Spurlin Dekle, a World War II Marine veteran whose middle name was Spurlin, see Carl Spurlin Dekle. For the one Spurlin on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, see Daniel R. Spurlin (Vietnam War). Two men with the related surname Spurling have their own entries: the Bermudian First World War flying ace Arthur Spurling and the neurosurgeon Roy Glenwood Spurling, who oversaw U.S. Army neurosurgery in the European theater in the Second World War.
See also
- Carl Spurlin Dekle (WWII veteran, viral interview) · People mixed
Carl Spurlin Dekle (1922–2022) was a Florida Marine and World War II veteran whose tearful interview on his 100th birthday was widely shared, and reposted again in 2025–26. Spurlin, his middle name, was his mother's maiden name. - Daniel R. Spurlin (Vietnam War) · History strong
First Lieutenant Daniel Raymond Spurlin (1942–1968) of Atlanta was a U.S. Army adviser with MACV Advisory Team 92. He was killed by small-arms fire in Go Cong Province, South Vietnam, on September 19, 1968, and is buried in Sandy Springs, Georgia. - Spurlins of Ashe and Alleghany Counties, North Carolina · Genealogy weak
Spurlins from Fairfax County, Virginia, settled in the Blue Ridge counties of Ashe and Alleghany, North Carolina, in the late 18th century. Descendants served in the 22nd North Carolina Infantry, were merchants and farmers around Sparta and Ennice in the 20th century, and gave their name to three family burial grounds. - Spurlin historical markers · History strong
Nine markers and memorials transcribed in the Historical Marker Database name a Spurlin, from a Georgia church founder of 1842 and an Alabama Masonic officer of 1852 to veterans on Confederate, World War I and Vietnam War memorials. - Spurlins in public service · People strong
A roundup of people surnamed Spurlin (and, separately, Spurling) in government, politics, the military and the courts, from a 19th-century Indiana sheriff to a Kentucky utility commissioner and recent local candidates, with links to the individual articles. - Spurlins in the American Civil War · History strong
Spurlins served on both sides of the Civil War. They included Confederates from North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee and Union soldiers from New Hampshire, Iowa, Indiana and Tennessee. This roundup collects service-index records, rosters, pension, pardon and soldiers' home records, and county-history accounts. - Arthur Spurling (Spurling variant) · People strong
Arthur Rowe Spurling (1896–1984) was a Bermudian infantryman and airman who became a First World War flying ace with six credited victories. He won the Distinguished Flying Cross for a 1918 action in which he and his observer fought their way through a formation of about thirty German fighters. - Claribel Spurling (Spurling variant) · People strong
Claribel Spurling (1875–1941) was an English history teacher and headmistress who became a First World War codebreaker with British military intelligence (MI1(b)). She was the only candidate to score 100% on its supposedly impossible entrance test, and later worked for the Government Code and Cypher School. - Notable Spurlins · People strong
An index of notable people surnamed Spurlin, with related Spurling-surname figures listed separately as variants. - Spurlin Family History in America · History mixed
An overview of Spurlin and Spurling families in America, from colonial Virginia and New England through southern and western migration, Civil War service, and published genealogies. - Spurlin research resources · Genealogy mixed
A roundup of free online tools for researching Spurlin families: collaborative trees, the Spurlin Y-DNA project, surname forums, digitized county histories and newspapers, federal land patents, cemetery and historical-marker databases, and military and African American records. - Spurlins in the Congressional Record · History strong
Federal congressional publications mention the Spurlin name in modern tributes and Senate nomination lists, in private pension acts for two Indiana Civil War veterans (1910 and 1914), and in 19th-century printed lists of voters, pensioners, pardons, claims and land entries.
References
- ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ WWII Army Casualties: Alabama (World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel from Alabama, 1946) — National Archives — page images 6 (Covington County) and 22 (Pike County); descriptive information on the same page Government
- ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ABMC Burial and Memorialization Directory: search "Spurlin" — American Battle Monuments Commission — public search entry point; 3 results, Sept. 2026: Romie L. (Manila), Jesse C. (Sicily-Rome), Federick William (Corozal); record details opened from the results list Government
- ↑ ↑ Gold Star Veterans: Spurlin — Honor States — 10 results, of which 6 are Spurlin (1 Vietnam, 5 WWII) and 4 Spurling; private-sector archive Reference
- ↑ World War I Honor Roll & Veterans Memorial (Columbus, Indiana) — HMdb — erected 1940 by the Bartholomew County commissioners; Allen Ray Spurlin listed without a star Reference
- ↑ WWII Army Casualties: Arizona — National Archives — page image 5 (Maricopa County) Government
- ↑ ↑ ↑ Jesse C Spurlin: First Sergeant from Arizona, World War II Casualty — Honor States Reference
- ↑ WWII Army Casualties: North Carolina — National Archives — page image 2 (Alleghany County) Government
- ↑ ↑ Romie L Spurlin: Private First Class from North Carolina, World War II Casualty — Honor States Reference
- ↑ Roy F Spurlin: Corporal from Alabama, World War II Casualty — Honor States Reference
- ↑ William C Spurlin: Private First Class from Alabama, World War II Casualty — Honor States Reference
- ↑ WWII Army Casualties: Texas — National Archives — page image 52 (Lampasas County) Government
- ↑ William D Spurlin: Corporal from Texas, World War II Casualty — Honor States Reference
Last reviewed 2026-09-24.