Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Michael John Gabel, age 30, from Crowley, Louisiana, Acadia county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company D, 1St Battalion, 503D Infantry, Vicenza, It
Date of death: Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Death details: Hostile; Fob Curry, Afghanistan
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Marcus Anthony Cain, age 20, from Crowley, Louisiana, Acadia county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company E, 4Th Combat Support Battalion, Fort Hood, Tx
Date of death: Thursday, September 14, 2006
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Seth Randell Trahan, age 20, from Crowley, Louisiana, Acadia county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: C Company, 3D Battalion, 156Th Infantry, (10Th Mountain Division), Crowley, La
Date of death: Saturday, February 19, 2005
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Michael Lawrence Thibodeaux, age 19, from Crowley, Louisiana, Acadia county.
Service era: Vietnam
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment
Date of death: Sunday, July 19, 1970
Death details: Killed by small arms fire, Binh Dinh Province
Cemetery: Roselawn, Sulphur
Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association
Andrus James Blanchard, age 22, from Church Point, Louisiana, Acadia county.
Parents: Mrs. T. J. Colligan
Spouse: Glenda Faye (Smith
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, January 13, 1970
Death details: Died of wounds received January 12, 1970 in Vietnam
Cemetery: SacredHeart Catholic Church
Source: National Archives, Crowley Post Signal (1970)
James E. Winchester from Rayne, Louisiana, Acadia county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Friday, March 21, 1958
Death details: Killed when the H-19 helicopter he wasw aboard crashed near Seoul, South Korea
Source: UP (1970)
James E. Winchester, age 20, from Rayne, Louisiana, Acadia county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Friday, March 21, 1958
Death details: Killed when the H-19 helicopter he wasw aboard crashed near Seoul, South Korea
Source: UP (1970)
Paul H. Myers, age 24, from Louisiana, Acadia county.
Service era: Korea
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment
Date of death: Friday, September 7, 1951
Death details: Killed in action, North Korea
Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association
Braxton Isham Moreau from Basile, Louisiana, Acadia county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: From November 20 through 23, 1943, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy conducted a large-scale amphibious assault on the Japanese-held atoll of Tarawa as part of Operation Galvanic, the Allied capture of the Gilbert Islands. Located 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, Tarawa was a crucial stepping stone in the planned U.S. offensive across the central Pacific toward Japan. The Japanese garrison on Tarawa’s main island of Betio was well-entrenched with hundreds of bunkers and gun positions behind formidable beach obstacles. The first wave of Marines approaching the shore encountered lower-than-expected tides, forcing them to leave their landing craft on the reef and wade the hundreds of yards to the beach under intense enemy fire. The heaviest number of U.S. casualties were suffered during this phase of the landing. Eventually, rising tides allowed U.S. warships to maneuver closer to shore and support the troops with effective naval gunfire. More Marines landed on the second day, launching attacks inland from the beaches and seizing the Japanese airfield on the island. However, the enemy launched vicious counterattacks and two more days of intense fighting were needed to secure Betio. The last enemy strongpoints were taken on the morning of November 23. The fighting on Betio cost the Marines nearly 3,000 casualties but enabled U.S. forces to press further across the Pacific and yielded valuable tactical lessons that reduced U.S. losses in future amphibious landings. Private First Class Braxton Isham Moreau, who entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Louisiana, served with Company C, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, which took part in the Battle of Tarawa. He was killed in action against Japanese forces on the atoll on November 20. He was buried in Main Marine Cemetery, Cemetery #33, Grave #9, Row #1, Plot #15 on Betio Island. After the war, his remains could not be identified. Private First Class Moreau is memorialized in the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Joseph McNeil Legros, age 22, from Morse, Louisiana, Acadia county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency