CAMP COMMANDERS

2nd Commander
COLONEL ZIM E. LAWHON - Served from 5/22/1943 - 11/8/1943

He was appointed Commanding Officer on 5/22/1943. He succeeded Col. George H. Cherrington, the first Commander who was transferred to New Cumberland, PA. He was an officer in the field artillery Ground Forces and was on duty with the War Department for more then a year before becoming commander. He continued as Commander until his death at the camp hospital on 11/8/1943.


Notes:
His was from San Antonio TX.
He was born in 12/7/1890 (was to be Pearl Harbor day) in San Marcos TX.
He attended the University of TX and joined the TX National Guard in 1908..
He saw duties overseas in 1917 with the Sixth Division, Third Field Artillery.
He served one year overseas with the American Expeditionary Force in France.
After coming home from France he graduated Field Artillery School, Fort Sill, Okla.
He attended the Command and General Staff schools in Ft. Leavenworth, Kan, and the Army War College in Washington DC.
He served as Professor of Military Science at Princeton for nine years.
He was commanding officer of the Senior Reserve Officers at that university.
He was on duty in Hawaii for a while.
He attended the Command and General Staff Schools, Army War College and all field artillery schools.
He had completed a 4 year tour in Washington with the Personnel Division of the Army Ground Forces.
He was part of the general staff at the War department for over a year from 1940 to 1942.
Before being named commander he was an officer in the field artillery Ground Forces.
Died at the Camp Hospital on 11/8/1943.
He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. 
Arlington Grave Site Number - Section $ - Grave # 2807-A
Other
He was married and had a son who was a Major in the Field Artillery.
His wife lived in Washington DC when he first came to the camp.
Had discovered a respiratory illness in Oct. 17 1942.
No one knew of his illness thus it was quite a shock when he died on 11/8/1943.
The unofficial word was out that Colonel Lawhon was going to be promoted to Brigadier General.

Obituary
High Ranking Post Officials Were PaIIbearers. Borne in solemn procession, the body of the late Colonel Zim E Lawhon, commanding officer of Camp Reynolds, has been removed to the Post Chapel at Ft. Myer, Va., before
interment in Arlington National Cemetery, resting place of the
nation's war heroes.
The post flag lowered at half mast late Sunday afternoon conveyed to Camp Reynolds soldiers the sorrowful news that the post commandant had succumbed after a brief illness. The colonel's wife, Mrs. Gertrude Arnold Lawhon, and son, Major Zim E Lawhon, Jr., of Ft. Sill, Okla., were at his bedside in the station hospital when death came.
In addition to the widow and son, survivors include Mrs. Sidney Kone Lawhon, of San Antonio, Tex., the
colonel's mother, and two brothers, Kone and Eagar, both of Houston Tex.
Special memorial services were held at Camp Reynolds Main Chapel Monday afternoon, where the body was placed in state. High ranking camp officials acted as pall bearers, as the flag-draped coffin was borne to Victory Station, followed by a guard of honor representing all regiments at camp Reynolds. A company of troops comprised of men representing all regiments formed an impressive part of the solemn
procession.
Pall bearers were: Lt. Col. James R. Manning, Maj. Willis E. Shelton, Maj. Hubert Ponder, Maj. Carl S. Brandner, Capt. Clyde W. Waller, and Capt. Ernest A. Evans.
Honorary pall bearers were Col. George M. Couper, Col. James P. Hulley, Col. Russell C. Snyder, Col. Raymond E. Vermette, Col. Milton V. Goodyear, Col. Charles R. Chase, Col. William W. Robertson and Col. George R. Engelthaler.
Preceded by the muffled tones of Post Band No. 1, the coffin was borne to the Victory siding where Post Chaplain Orin Swank delivered the benediction. 
Major David Meriwether accompanied the body to Arlington.

Voicing deep regret on the death of Colonel Zim E Lawhon, late post commandant at Camp Reynolds,
Major General Milton A. Reckord, commanding general of the Third Service Command, declared:"Colonel Lawhon came to Camp Reynolds at a very critical time. The present satisfactory condition with respect to the processing of men through the camp is largely due to his untiring effort, and his general administrative ability. He brought to the job confronting him the experience of many years service in the Regular Army. "His untimely death is greatly regretted and will be a distinct loss to the Army as well as to his friends."