Eighty-four years ago today, a Lawrence County man became the first Tennessean to die in World War II when the Japanese Navy launched its infamous surprise attack on the American Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Private Leland V. Beasley was a 1936 graduate of Loretto High School. The son of Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus Beasley, Leland joined the Army Air Corps in the autumn of 1939 and became a mechanic in the 42nd Bombardment Squadron.

He was stationed at Hickam Field, the air field closest to Pearl Harbor, in March 1940.

Private Beasley was killed when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He was one of nine casualties from the 42nd Bombardment Squadron, and one of 2,403 American servicemen killed in that attack.

The December 12, 1941 edition of the ‘Tennessean’ declared that Beasley was the “State’s First War Casualty.”

Private Beasley’s body was initially interred at Schofield Barracks, near Pearl Harbor. In 1947, his remains were disinterred and moved to the Nashville National Cemetery, where he is buried in plot 1, grave number 181. At his reburial, members of Loretto’s American Legion served as the honor guard, and members of Lawrenceburg’s American Legion also took part in the ceremony.

Photo: Old Jail Museum