Harvey Dunavant was a soldier during World War II with the 84th Division Rail Spliters 557th AAA AW BN Battery D. Enlisted in 1943, landed after D-Day at Utah Beach near St. Mere Eglise. Unit fought in Battle of the Bulge and met the Russians at the Elbe River. After VE Day he was part of a Military Police Unit in London before returning to the U.S. on board the Queen Mary.

He became a police officer after his separation and retired from law enforcement in the late 1980's. He passed away in Richmond, Virginia, on February 7, 2007, and received a military burial with honors at the Virginia Veterans Cemetery in Amelia, Virginia.