Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Merideth Leigh Howard, age 52, from Corpus Christi, Texas
Service era: Iraq
Military history: 405Th Civil Affairs Battalion, (Tf Spartan), Fort Bragg, Nc
Date of death: Friday, September 8, 2006
Death details: Hostile; Kabul, Afghanistan
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
John Thomas Stone, age 52, from Norwich, Vermont, Windsor county.
Service era: Iraq – Operation Enduring Freedom
Military history: Hhc, 86th Brigade, 42d Infantry Division (Tf Phoenix), Northfield, Vermont
Date of death: Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Death details: Hostile in Lashkagar, Afghanistan
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Thomas Ruel Thigpen Sr., age 52, from Augusta, Georgia, Richmond county.
Service era: Iraq
Spouse: Theresa
Children: Two daughters
Military history: Army National Guard. Hhc, 151St Signal Battalion, 201 Perimeter Road, Greenville, South Carolina
Date of death: Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Death details: Wife said he died of heart attack or a stroke during a game of tag football in Camp Virginia, Kuwait
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Bobby L. McKnight, age 52, from Dallas, North Carolina
Spouse: Pat McKnight
Children: Jackie, 23; Linda, 22
Service era: Gulf War
Military history: 1454th Transportation Company, National Guard
Date of death: Sunday, February 17, 1991
Death details: Died in Saudi Arabia when a tractor-trailer truck crashed into another vehicle
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, The Gulf War Chronicles, Charlotte Observer (1991)
Andrew Machristie, age 52, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia county.
Parents: Julie Machristie
Spouse: Anna
Children: John Kenneth, Andrew Jr., Larry Andrew Machristie,Andrea Marie Jakcson
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, December 4, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile, died in South Vietnam.
Source: National Archives, El Paso Herald, Associated Press (1970)
Raymond Bishop Jr. Penn, age 52, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Allegheny county.
Parents: Raymond B. Penn Sr.
Spouse: Barbara J. Penn
Children: Ross, Carl, Mark, Marsha
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, December 1, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile, died in South Vietnam.
Source: National Archives, El Paso Herald Post, Associated Press (1970)
Walter Kenon Dennis, age 52, from Atlanta, Georgia, Fulton county.
Spouse: Lillian Adams Dennis
Children: Carroll and Michael
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, February 12, 1970
Death details: Non-combat death in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Raleigh News and Observer (1970)
Charles Jack Girard, age 52, from Sumter, South Carolina, Sumter county.
Spouse: Joan Brightmore Girard
Children: Thomas Girard, Charles J. Girard, Renee McHaffey, Stephanie, Yvonne, Marguerite
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, January 17, 1970
Death details: Died in his living quarters in Saigon
Cemetery: Arlington National
Source: National Archives, Hartford Courant (1970), The Item (1970)
Robert A. Jackson, age 52, from Bexar County Texas.
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. Warrant Officer Junior Grade Robert Arnold Jackson, who joined the U.S. Army from Texas, served with the Chemical Warfare Service and was stationed at Headquarters, U.S. Army Forces Far East in the Philippines. He was captured by enemy forces during the Japanese invasion of the islands, and interned in the Philippines until December 1944, when he was put aboard the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate WOJG Jackson 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. WOJG Jackson’s remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Warrant Officer Junior Grade Jackson is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Louis C. Klein, age 52, from District of Columbia.
Spouse: Betty Klein
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. First Lieutenant Louis C. Klein, who joined the U.S. Army from Massachusetts, served with the Medical Administrative Corps in the Philippines. He was captured by enemy forces during the Japanese invasion of the islands, and interned in the Philippines until December 1944, when he was put aboard the vessel Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate 1LT Klein 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. 1LT Klein’s remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, First Lieutenant Klein is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Cincinnati Post (1945)