Dayton in Rhea County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Pvt. W.G. Harding DaVault

1920-1944

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, December 29, 2024

1. Pvt. W.G. Harding Davault Marker

Inscription. The remains of Pvt. W. G. Harding DaVault of Rhea County who died in 1944 fighting in Germany are interred in this cemetery. He entered the U.S. Army while a student at Rhea Central High School. After 76 years, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified his remains by DNA profiling. Pvt. DaVault received the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and eight other service citations. In 2021 his remains returned to a grateful town, state, and nation with full honors. Pvt. DaVault was one of 75 Rhea County service members killed in World War II.

Erected 2024 by Tennessee Historical Commission. (Marker Number 2B 36.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War, World II.

Location. 35° 28.059′ N, 84° 56.444′ W. Marker is in Dayton, Tennessee, in Rhea County. It is on Spence Cemetery Road south of New Bethel Road, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 750 Spence Cemetery Rd, Dayton TN 37321, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in East Tennessee.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Bryan College (approx. 4 miles away); Cedar Hill (approx. 4.2 miles away); a different marker also named Bryan College (approx.

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4.2 miles away); Site of Rhea County High School (approx. 4.3 miles away); W.C. Bailey Boardinghouse (approx. 4.4 miles away); McKenzie Law Office (approx. 4.4 miles away); The Scopes Trial (approx. 4½ miles away); Rhea County Veteran's Memorial (approx. 4½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Dayton.

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, December 29, 2024

2. Pvt. W.G. Harding Davault Marker

Pvt. W.G. Harding Davault gravestone image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, December 29, 2024

3. Pvt. W.G. Harding Davault gravestone

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, December 29, 2024

4. Pvt. W.G. Harding Davault Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on January 7, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 29, 2024, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 205 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 29, 2024, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.