Visits to Veteran’s Graves in Virginia
Only five veterans of the Spanish Civil War are known to be buried in Virginia outside of Arlington National Cemetery[1]: two in Richmond, two in Norfolk, and one in Big Stone Gap. ALB Tribute visited the graves of Harry Edward Farris and Thomas Moore in Richmond as well as Manuel Lizarrago and Crawford Morgan in Norfolk. (See my April y29, 2024 post “A Search for Answers: Where Lies Farris and Does He Deserve a Flag?” about my visit to Harry Edward Farris’ grave in The Volunteer Blog.)
Thomas Moore is buried in Glendale National Cemetery along with his wife Emma Hilton Moore. Thomas Moore (1909-1967) was born in Holden Missouri. He attended the University of Illinois where he studied chemical engineering from 1926-1928. Moore served in the US Marine Corps where he was attached to the 10th Artillery Regiment. He later worked as a seaman (National Maritime Union); salesman; and miner (United Mine Workers of America). In 1930, Moore married Emma Hilton (1911-1995). They had one son David S. Moore (1932-2008).
Moore volunteered to serve with the International Brigades in the summer of 1937. He arrived in Spain in August 1937 and joined the XVth Brigade after training. Moore fought at Fuentes de Ebro, Teruel, Seguro de los Baños, the Retreats, and the Ebro Offensive. He was wounded in action at Teruel and again during the Ebro Offensive.
Moore returned to the US in December 1938. During World War II he served in the US Army Air Force as a Staff Sergeant. Moore died in 1967 in the Veterans Affairs Hospital, in Chesterfield, Virginia.
Crawford Morgan (1910-1976) was born in Rockingham, North Carolina. He attended Browns High School and apprenticed as a printer. Morgan married Allie Staten (1907-?) in 1930 in Norfolk, Virginia. He left the US in March 1937 to join the International Brigades. In Spain he served with the George Washington Battalion and remained with the unit when it merged with the Lincoln Battalion during the Brunete Offensive. Morgan fought at Quinto where he was wounded in action. After recovering, he was assigned to the XVth Brigade Auto Park. He went on to serve at Fuentes de Ebro, The Retreats, and the Ebro Offensive. Morgan returned to the US in December 1938.
During World War II he enlisted in the US Army and served in the European Theater of Operations. Morgan’s obituary appeared in The Volunteer, December 1976 issue.
I am fairly confident that the Manuel Lizarraga (1895-1973) whose gravesite I visited, is the Spanish Civil War veteran. Records indicate that Lizarraga was born in 1894 in Manila, Philippines and came to the US in 1934. Lizarraga was a seaman with a Nautical Pilot rating. He listed Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Manila as his addresses on his passport. Lizarraga was one of the first American volunteers. He arrived in Albacete in December 1936 and was attached to the XVth Brigade’s English Battalion as an interpreter with the rank of Lieutenant. He served at Lopera, Jarama, and Brunete. He was wounded in December 1936 at Lopera and again at Brunete. Lizarraga returned to the US in August 1938.
During World War II he is noted as having served in the US armed forces. Manuel Victoriano Lizarraga’s headstone indicates that he was born in 1895 and his obituary, posted on Find-a-grave, notes that he was Peruvian. Dr. Ray Hoff’s research on Ancestry provides linkage including photographs from a Seaman’s Protection Certificate (1928) and a Brazilian Immigration Card (1939) which appear to be the same man as the photograph from RGASPI. In addition, Hoff found a crew list in which Lizarraga states he was from Peru. There may have been two volunteers with the same name or more likely Lizarrago altered his date of birth and used a variant of his name. The photographs appear to support the latter.
Manuel Lizarraga in Spain RGASPI, two from Seaman’s Certificate of Identity 1928, and Immigration card to Brazil 1948.
I have not been able to visit the grave of Archibald James Hunter, Jr. (1910-1984). Hunter was born in Baltimore, Maryland and worked a variety of jobs including insurance salesman, ranch hand, and seaman (National Maritime Union) before going to Spain. He arrived in Spain in November 1937. He returned to the United States in December 1938.
He married Charlotte O’Shaughnessy Cranford (1920-?) in 1941 in Dade County, Florida and had a son William J. Hunter (1930-?). Hunter later married Anne Clair Hurd (1925-2012) in 1969 in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. He is buried in Glencoe Cemetery, Big Stone Gap. I am going to reach out to family in the area to see it if they might be willing to stop by and visit his grave.
Additional Information:
Farris, Harry Edward Find-a-grave memorial #174723565 Richmond Forest Lawn Cemetery
Hunter, Archibald Find-a-grave memorial #36867532 Big Stone Gap Glencoe Cemetery
Lizarraga, Manuel Find-a-grave memorial #102597638 Norfolk Calvary Cemetery
Moore, Thomas Find-a-grave memorial #1009208 Richmond Glendale National Cemetery
Morgan, Crawford Find-a-grave memorial #102600007 Norfolk Calvary Cemetery
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[1] The following are buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia :Charles Alfred Barr, Theodore Rose Cogswell, Gerald Cook, Edithe May Dyer, Irving Goff, Louis Gordon, Burt Edward Jackson, Vincent Lossowski, Harry Schoenberg, Kenneth Shaker, Robert George Thompson, and Vincente Usera Battistini.
Francesco Coco is buried in Arlington in Columbia Gardens Cemetery. His Find-a-grave memorial# 129586896.
