Robert Wilson Floyd, age 49, from Gastonia, North Carolina, Gaston county.
Spouse: Viola V. Floyd
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, January 29, 1970
Source: National Archives, Raleigh News and Observer (1970)
Floyd, Robert Wilson
Thamy, Peter
Army Master sergeant
Peter Thamy, age 49, from Vallejo, California, Solano county.
Spouse: Felcidad M. Thamy
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, March 16, 1962
Death details: Among 93 soldiers aboard a transport plane on a “secret mission” to Vietnam. Wreaths Across America in 2021: “Very little is known about what happened to the plane and its passengers, and due to the circumstance surrounding this mission, the names of those lost have not yet been added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.”
Cemetery: A memorial honoring the lives lost was dedicated in 2021 in Columbia Falls, Maine
Source: Atlanta Counstitution (1962), MauiNow (2021), UPI (1962)
Lade, Charles Grant
Navy Reserves lt commander
Charles Grant Lade, age 49, from Los Angeles County Hollywood, California .
Spouse: Edna Clara Lade
Children: Charles Grant Lade
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, January 9, 1945
Death details: On December 13, 1944, Japanese forces in the Philippines began the transfer of 1,621 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) to Japan. The POWs were to make the journey aboard transport ships whose harsh conditions and extreme overcrowding led survivors to refer to them as “Hell Ships.” The ships also lacked markings that would distinguish them from any other military target, causing some of them to be attacked by Allied forces who could not identify them as POW transports. On December 14, 1944, Allied aircraft attacked the first ship, the Oryoku Maru, in Subic Bay in the Philippines, killing many Allied POWs who became lost in the water, sank with the ship, or were washed ashore. Survivors of the bombing were put aboard two other ships, the Enoura Maru and the Brazil Maru, to continue on to Japan. During the journey, while anchored in Takao Harbor, Formosa (present-day Taiwan), the Enoura Maru was attacked by Allied aircraft from the USS Hornet (CV-8), killing Allied POWs who were lost in the water, on board the ship, or on the nearby shore. Survivors of the Enoura Maru bombing were loaded onto the Brazil Maru, and reached Japan on January 30, 1945. As a result of these incidents, Allied POWs were lost in the Philippines, at sea between the Philippines and Taiwan, while anchored in Taiwan, at sea between Taiwan and Japan, and in Japan. The attacks on these POW transports ultimately resulted in a series of death notifications from the Japanese government through the International Red Cross (IRC), and some casualties were given up to five different dates of death at various locations during the transfer. Witness accounts from surviving POWs offer detailed information for a handful of casualties, but the specific dates of loss and/or last-known locations for many of these POWs are based on the most recent reported date of death. Lieutenant Commander Charles Grant Lade entered the U.S. Navy from California and served at Cavite Navy Yard, a U.S. Navy ship repair facility located in Manila Bay in the Philippines during World War II. He was taken as a POW following the Japanese invasion and interned in the islands until December 1944, when he was put aboard the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate LCDR Lade was killed several weeks later in the attack on the Enoura Maru; however, these reports often involve information solely furnished by enemy governments, with some casualties given multiple dates of death. Future research may determine that these reports were inaccurate. Lieutenant Commander Lade’s remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Lieutenant Lade is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Los Angeles Times (1945)
Lockwood, Hanford N.
Army Colonel
Hanford N. Lockwood, age 49, from California.
Spouse: Hanford N. Lockwood
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, January 9, 1945
Death details: On December 13, 1944, Japanese forces in the Philippines began the transfer of 1,621 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) to Japan. The POWs were to make the journey aboard transport ships whose harsh conditions and extreme overcrowding led survivors to refer to them as “Hell Ships.” The ships also lacked markings that would distinguish them from any other military target, causing some of them to be attacked by Allied forces who could not identify them as POW transports. On December 14, 1944, Allied aircraft attacked the first ship, the Oryoku Maru, in Subic Bay in the Philippines, killing many Allied POWs who became lost in the water, sank with the ship, or were washed ashore. Survivors of the bombing were put aboard two other ships, the Enoura Maru and the Brazil Maru, to continue on to Japan. During the journey, while anchored in Takao Harbor, Formosa (present-day Taiwan), the Enoura Maru was attacked by Allied aircraft from the USS Hornet (CV-8), killing Allied POWs who were lost in the water, on board the ship, or on the nearby shore. Survivors of the Enoura Maru bombing were loaded onto the Brazil Maru, and reached Japan on January 30, 1945. As a result of these incidents, Allied POWs were lost in the Philippines, at sea between the Philippines and Taiwan, while anchored in Taiwan, at sea between Taiwan and Japan, and in Japan. The attacks on these POW transports ultimately resulted in a series of death notifications from the Japanese government through the International Red Cross (IRC), and some casualties were given up to five different dates of death at various locations during the transfer. Witness accounts from surviving POWs offer detailed information for a handful of casualties, but the specific dates of loss and/or last-known locations for many of these POWs are based on the most recent reported date of death. Colonel Hanford Nathan Lockwood Jr., who joined the U.S. Army from California, served with the 24th Field Artillery Regiment in the Philippines and was captured by enemy forces during the Japanese invasion of the islands. He was interned in a prison camp in the Philippines until December 1944, when he was put aboard the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate COL Lockwood was killed several weeks later in the attack on the Enoura Maru; however, these reports often involve information solely furnished by enemy governments, with some casualties given multiple dates of death. Future research may determine that these reports were inaccurate. COL Lockwood’s remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Colonel Lockwood is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Monrovia News Post (1945)
Beasley, James B.
Army Corporal
James B. Beasley, age 49, from Virginia, Norfolk county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Wednesday, November 25, 1942
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor and food and water supplied extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Corporal James B. Beasley joined the U.S. Army from Virginia and served in the 59th Coast Artillery Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured on Corregidor Island following the American surrender and died of pellagra on November 25, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Corporal Beasley is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing at Manila American
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission; Virginia Military Dead database, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Rogers, Thomas Spurgeon
Navy Reserves Chief watertender
Thomas Spurgeon Rogers, age 49, from Birmingham, Alabama, Jefferson county.
Spouse: Thomas Spurgeon Rogers
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, Montgomery Advertiser
Bielka, Rudolph Paul
Navy Lieutenant commander
Rudolph Paul Bielka, age 49, from Pierce County Tacoma, Washington .
Spouse: Myrtle Bielka
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Utah
Cemetery: Honolulu Memorial
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Stockton Evening and Sunday Record (1943)