The family suffered due to the Great Depression, moving frequently, and ended up in Bluefield, West Virginia, where the younger Spurrier found work in a Civilian Conservation Corps camp.

[2] Injured in New Guinea in late 1943, he was returned to the United States for medical treatment, first to Camp Carson, Colorado, then to San Francisco, California.

While twice positioning himself on an American tank destroyer, Spurrier used its .50 caliber machine gun to kill over a dozen German soldiers and force the surrender of twenty-two others.

Spurrier repeatedly returned to his company's command post with prisoners, and replenished his ammunition from both American and enemy weapons to continue his attack on the occupied village.

Staff Sergeant Junior J. Spurrier's official Medal of Honor citation reads: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy at Achain, France, on 13 November 1944.

Discharged after World War II, he attempted to go into business and had a brief stint as a pitcher with the Galax Leafs of the Class D Blue Ridge League before re-enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1947.

[7][8] He had a severe problem with alcohol, and was demoted to the rank of private in 1950; Spurrier deserted his post during the Korean War and the Army gave him a honorable discharge in 1951 rather than court-martial him.

He had a difficult time adjusting to civilian life, possibly due to posttraumatic stress disorder, and had several run-ins with the law in Virginia and Maryland.

[21] Several of Spurrier's original awards were believed lost, but were located in November 2011 by Granville, West Virginia, police chief Craig Corkrean, in a safe belonging to his late father.