Robert Eugene Jr Colvill, age 31, from Anderson, Indiana, Madison county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Hhc, 1St Battalion, 26Th Infantry Regiment, 1St Infantry Division, Apo Ae 09033
Date of death: Thursday, July 8, 2004
Death details: Hostile; Samarra, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Matthew Robert Smith, age 20, from Anderson, Indiana, Madison county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: I-I Stf, Det 1, Commco, H&Sbn, Peru, In
Date of death: Saturday, May 10, 2003
Death details: Camp Coyote, Kuwait
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Richard Eugene Garretson, age 21, from Madison County Anderson, Indiana .
Parents: Virginia Harrison Garretson and preceded in death by Erssie H. Garretson
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Highland High graduate
Date of death: Sunday, November 28, 1971
Death details: Non-hostile, missing in South Vietnam
Cemetery: Anderson Memorial Park
Source: National Archives, Anderson Daily Bulletin (1971)
Patrick Alan Hartwell, age 22, from Anderson, Indiana, Madison county.
Parents: Joseph Hartwell
Spouse: Deborah (Croy)
Children: April Kay, 1
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Attended school in Orestes and Alexsandria
Military history: Machine gun squad of the 1st Air Cavalry Division, Bronze Star and Purple Heart
Date of death: Friday, June 5, 1970
Death details: Hostile in Cambodia
Source: National Archives, Alexandria Times Tirbune (1970)
Jimmie Lee Johnson, age 20, from Anderson, Indiana, Madison county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, March 1, 1970
Death details: Hostile in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives
Robert Earl Ellis, age 19, from Anderson, Indiana, Madison county.
Parents: Bertea Evelyn Wood and Earl Ellis
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Anderson High graduate
Date of death: Wednesday, February 18, 1970
Death details: Killed in an explosion, non-hostile, near the Cambodian border.
Source: National Archives, Indianapolis Star (1970)
David George Hutchings, age 21, from Anderson, Indiana.
Service era: Vietnam
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment
Date of death: Monday, June 20, 1966
Death details: Killed by small arms fire, Pleiku Province
Cemetery: Anderson Memorial Park
Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association
Roy Eldon Jr. Freeman, age 22, from Madison County Anderson, Indiana .
Parents: Roy E. Freeman Sr.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, May 9, 1966
Death details: Hostile in South Vietnam; Bronze Star citation: “When his platoon discovered a Viet Cong tunnel complex, Private 1st Class Freeman immediately volunteered to search for the insurgent force. Hampered by tight passages, lack of oxygen and the constant threat of Viet Cong, Pfc. Freeman travesed over 300 meters of tunnel. When he arrived at a closed trap door, Pfc Freeman, with complete disregard for his safety, continued his mission and pushed the trap door open. The door set off a Viet Cong booby trap which fatally wounded him.”
Cemetery: Andderson
Source: National Archives, Anderson Daily Bulletin (1966)
Francis Malcolm Douglass, age 36, from Madison County Anderson, Indiana .
Spouse: Kathryn Lee Douglass
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Thursday, January 18, 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 Francis Malcom Douglass, who joined the U.S. Navy in New Hampshire, served in the Philippines during World War II. He was taken as a POW following the Japanese invasion and was interned in the islands until December 1944, when he was put aboard the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate LT Douglass 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. Attempts to locate and identify LT Douglass’s remains following the end of hostilities were unsuccessful. Today, Lieutenant Douglass is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Norman L. Weber, age 24, from Madison County Anderson, Indiana .
Parents: Thelma Weber
Spouse: Thelma Weber
Service era: World War II
Military history: 401 Glider Infantry 101 Airborne Division
Date of death: Saturday, September 30, 1944
Death details: On September 17, 1944, elements of the newly formed First Allied Airborne Army (the U.S. 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, the British 1st Airborne Division, and the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade Group) launched the first phase of Operation MARKET GARDEN. This operation was an effort to bypass the Siegfried Line defenses along Germany’s western border by seizing bridges in the Netherlands, by which heavier forces could then advance across the Rhine River. The landings employed a mix of glider infantry and paratroopers; the 101st Airborne was tasked with taking the bridges at Son and Veghel, while the 82nd would take the bridges at Grave and Nijmegen. However, Allied troops faced unexpectedly well-organized German resistance and experienced difficulty linking up with the friendly forces that were supposed to join them at the bridgeheads. Poor weather also limited the effectiveness of Allied air support. After several days of fierce fighting, the opposing lines stabilized with Allied forces holding south of the Rhine in what became known as the Nijmegen Salient. The operation’s ultimate objective, which was entering Germany in the north by crossing the Rhine, was not fulfilled until early 1945.
Second Lieutenant Norman L. Weber, who entered the U.S. Army from Indiana, was serving with Company G of the 401st Glider Infantry Regiment (GIR), 101st Airborne Division, at the time of Operation MARKET GARDEN. For the operation, his unit landed around Nijmegen on September 23, 1944. The glider soldiers assisted in taking and holding the bridges at Grave and Nijmegen, before assaulting strong German positions in an area known as the Kiekberg Woods. During the fighting there over the next several days, Company G sustained particularly heavy casualties, with several men reported as missing in action. Communications breakdowns, thick vegetation, and nighttime combat contributed to the difficulty of accounting for missing soldiers, one of whom was 2LT Weber. German records do not indicate that 2LT Weber was ever taken prisoner, and subsequent searches of the battlefield areas associated with Operation MARKET GARDEN were not able to uncover any trace of his remains. Today, Second Lieutenant Weber is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten.
Cemetery: Unaccounted For
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Anderson Herald (1945)