Kennon Smith Breazeale
1942
Animal Husbandry
Blue Key 4; Scabbard and Blade 3, 4; Basketball 1; Animal Husbandry Club 3; Platoon Commander 4; Master Cadet, Sharpshooter, ROTC Camp, Clemson, SC; Honor Military Graduate. He held the rank of Cadet Colonel during his senior year and commanded the Corps of Cadets
Lebanon Community, Pendleton, SC
Elsie Bennett Breazeale, who he married in 1942. One son: Kennon S. Breazeale, Jr., born in 1944. He was also survived by his father, John Allen Breazeale; brothers, Sgt John A. Breazeale, and James Oliver Breazeale of the Merchant Marines; and a sister, Nina Alice Breazeale
Army, First Lieutenant
Fourth Division, 22nd Infantry
Silver Star, Purple Heart
Dec 5, 1915
Feb 10, 1945
Killed in Action in the Battle of the Bulge
He was initially buried in Belgium. His body was later returned home and buried in the family cemetery at Lebanon Baptist Church near Pendleton
SW
Personal Remembrances
This article appeared in a 1942 Edition of The Tiger (student newspaper at Clemson College)
Lt. Kennon S. Breazeale, Animal Husbandry ’42, of Clemson and Pendleton, was killed in action in the European theater on February 10. His wife, Mrs. Elsie Bennett Breazeale has been informed. He was the son of John A. and the late Mrs. Breazeale of the Lebanon section of Anderson County.
Additional Information
He attended Clemson for 2 years before enlisting in the Marines. He served in Shanghai in the late 30’s before returning to Clemson to finish his degree. After leaving Clemson in 1942, he trained at Camp Wolters, TX and Fort Benning, GA before returning to the military staff at Clemson College. When called up again, he went overseas, serving in England, France, Belgium, and Germany. He was in front-line action action from December 12, 1944 until February 10, 1945 when he was killed.
“Lt. Kennon S. Breazeale, Animal Husbandry ’42, of Clemson and Pendleton, was killed in action in the European theater on February 10. His wife, Mrs. Elsie Bennett Breazeale has been informed. He was the son of John A. and the late Mrs. Breazeale of the Lebanon section of Anderson County.
After attending Clemson for two years, Lt. Breazeale enlisted in the Marines. He served in Shanghai back in the thirties, when the Japanese launched their attack there, and witnessed severe fighting. Upon returning to Clemson to finish this course, Lt. Breazeale was named Cadet Colonel for the year ’41-42.
During his school days, he was a member of Blue Key, Scabbard and Blade, Junior and Senior platoons, and was platoon commander his senior year. He was Sharpshooter, and an honor military graduate.
Leaving Clemson in 1942, he went to Camp Wolters, Texas, where he stayed two months.”
Extracted from The Tiger the Clemson student newspaper.
Personal note by J. David Lyle
His wife, Elsie, later married J. Betts Wilson, a Clemson businessman. They lived in Clemson just up the hill from the intersection of College Ave and SC-93. Mrs. Wilson worked as the secretary to several Presidents of Clemson University until she retired around 2010.
Lieutenant Breazeale’s son, Kennon Jr., lived in Hawaii and provided information to us about his father.
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