Sponsored by:

Navy Federal Credit Union
Cauthion
Tillmon
Boyd
Jr.
1918-11-13

–

1987-05-03

Born:

Spencer

, 

North Carolina

Home:

Detroit

, 

Michigan

Buried: 

Arlington

, 

Virginia

Cemetery:

Arlington National Cemetery

Cauthion BoydJr. was the oldest of eight children of Reverend Cauthion T. Boyd, and grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He committed to Christian Ministry early in his adolescence. He attended Hampton College and then transferred to Anderson College, Anderson, Indiana, where he graduated in June 1944. He entered military service as a U.S. Army chaplain in June 29,1944, serving in the latter days of World War II and the Korean War, retiring in 1971 after 26 years of service. In retirement he joined the Indianapolis Police Department in 1971, and in 1976 was appointed Senior Chaplain for the Department. He held leadership positions and served on various boards including: Presidential-Missionary Board of the Church of God; was a gubernatorial appointed to the Indiana State Civil Rights Commission; Red Cross Board of Directors and Board of Public Relations, and others. In 1977 Anderson College, which in 1964 named him the Most Outstanding Alumnus of the Class of 1944, conferred upon him an Honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree.

Awards Received

  • Silver Star

    Service:

    United States Army

    Rank:

    First Lieutenant (Chaplain’s Corps)

    Regiment:

    9th Infantry Regiment

    Division:

    2d Infantry Division

    Action Date:

    August 11, 1950
    Headquarters, 2d Infantry Division, General Orders No. 51 (1950), Amended by G.O. 55 (1950)

    (Citation Needed) – SYNOPSIS: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant (Chaplain’s Corps) Cauthion T. Boyd, Jr. (ASN: 0-932761), United States Army, for gallantry in action as a member of Headquarters, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division, in action against an armed enemy on 11 August 1950, near Ph-nag Dong Korea. On that date a company of the 9th Infantry Regiment was ambushed and suffered casualties who were in precarious condition because of the difficulty of evacuation. Chaplain Boyd voluntarily, with utter disregard for his own personal safety, procured a truck and drove through a hail of enemy fire to the wounded and dying to administer aid. He made four trips to and from the ambushed company until all the wounded had been evacuated. The gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty demonstrated by Chaplain Boyd, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.