PFC John Roland Dunaway was born in Muscogee, Escambia County, Florida in 1910 to the union of Joseph Dunaway and Florence Byrd. Joseph supported his family working in the Muscogee sawmill. By 1915, Florence was married to Monroe H. Lee and Roland's stepfather supported as a farmer. Roland dropped out of school with an elementary education and went to work in the timber trade in Muscogee. He was married to Mae Belle Young until their divorce in 1939. After his enlistment in the Army he was assigned to the 22nd Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division. The Regiment landed at Utah Beach during the famous landing known as D-day. They then stormed through France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. They fought fiercely in the battle of the "Hurtgen Forest", widely known as one of the fiercest, bloodiest battles in all history.
As Christmas of 1944 approached, Roland and his regiment were defending a sector along the Moselle River in Luxembourg, Germany. On the morning of December 16th the huge German offensive struck the American forces and became known as the "Battle of the Bulge." The situation became critical as our forces were steamrolled by the German onslaught. Parts of the regiment were sent to rescue the 12th Infantry Regiment surrounded at Osweiler. It was here that PFC John Roland Dunaway was killed in action in some of the fierce fighting of the battle on December 26, 1944. It was Roland's regiment that was selected by novelist Ernest Hemingway for material for his article of November 18, 1944 "War on the Seigfried Line" in Collier's Magazine. Here Hemingway described in detail the fighting prior to the Battle of the Bulge. The regiment was also selected by the famous journalist Ernie Pyle to spend five months of combat. Roland is buried in the Hamm Cemetery in Luxembourg, Germany.
PFC John Roland Dunaway, US Army, KIA 12-26-1944
Battle of the Bulge, 22nd Infantry Regiment
US Casualties Battle of the Bulge 75,000
Roland's Mother: Florence Byrd Dunaway Lee
Buried Crary Cemetery, Bluff Springs, Florida