Asheville North Carolina

Dutcher, Michael J.
Marines Corporal

Michael J. Dutcher, age 22, from Asheville, North Carolina, Buncombe county.

Parents: Teresa Gentry Dutcher and David Duther (died in 2005)

Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 1st Battalion, 5th Marines Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California.

Date of death: Thursday, September 15, 2011
Death details: Died while conductin combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

Source: Department of Defense, Citizen-Times, Military Times

Hess, Kenneth Dale
Army Sergeant

Kenneth Dale Hess, age 26, from Asheville, North Carolina, Buncombe county.

Service era: Iraq
Military history: A Troop, 4Th Squadron, 14Th Cavalry, 172D Sbct, Fort Wainwright, Alaska

Date of death: Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Death details: killed April 11 as the result of a suicide bomber attack while he was conducting a dismounted patrol in Rawah, Iraq.

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

Ray, Joseph Randall
Army Staff Sergeant

Joseph Randall Ray, age 29, from Asheville, North Carolina, Buncombe county.

Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company A, 391St Engineer Battalion, Asheville, Nc

Date of death: Sunday, March 12, 2006
Death details: Hostile; Asadabad, Afghanistan

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

Allen, Mark Erwin
Army Specialist 4

Mark Erwin Allen, age 19, from Buncombe County Asheville, North Carolina .

Parents: Virginia Buckner Allen

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, January 26, 1972
Cemetery: Piney Mountain near Weaverville

Source: National Archives, Asheville Times (1972)

Tate, Richard Lee
Marines Sergeant

Richard Lee Tate, age 20, from Asheville, North Carolina, Buncombe county.

Parents: Homer Tate
Spouse: Helen Praytor Tate

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Friday, October 23, 1970
Death details: Died in South Vietnam

Source: National Archives, Asheville Citizen Times (1970)

Crews, John Hunter III
Air Force Captain

John Hunter Crews III from Asheville, North Carolina, Buncombe county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, May 22, 1968

Death details:

On May 22, 1968, an F-4D Phantom II (tail number 66-0246, call sign Dipper 02) with two crew members took off as one of two aircraft on a nighttime armed reconnaissance mission over enemy targets in North Vietnam. Immediately after the other aircraft on the mission passed over the target area, its crew heard this F-4D’s crew radio to say they were taking heavy enemy anti-aircraft fire. The other aircraft then saw a large fireball on the ground near the target and circled the area for several minutes, but could not locate this F-4D or any sign of its crew. Another flight relieved the lead aircraft and began a search but was similarly unsuccessful due to the darkness. Attempts to locate and investigate the crash site were precluded by enemy presence in the area, and further attempts to locate the F-4D’s crew members were unsuccessful.

First Lieutenant John Hunter Crews III entered the U.S. Air Force from North Carolina and served in the 433th Tactical Fighter Squadron. He was the aircraft commander aboard the F-4D when it was lost, and his remains were not recovered following the incident. Subsequent to the incident, and while held in a missing in action status, the U.S. Air Force promoted First Lieutentant Crews to the rank of Captain.  Today, Captain Crews is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

McBee, Carl Edward
Marines Lance corporal

Carl Edward McBee, age 23, from Buncombe County Asheville, North Carolina .

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Sunday, June 6, 1965
Death details: Non-hostile, South Vietnam. Died in a helicopter collision of the coast of South Vietnam.
Cemetery: Pisgah View Memorial

Source: National Archives, Asheville Times (1965)

McBee, Carl Edward
Marines Lance corporal

Carl Edward McBee, age 23, from Buncombe County Asheville, North Carolina .

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Sunday, June 6, 1965
Death details: Non-hostile, South Vietnam. Died in a helicopter collision of the coast of South Vietnam.
Cemetery: Pisgah View Memorial

Source: National Archives, Asheville Times (1965)

Goudlock, David Joseph
Army Corporal

David Joseph Goudlock, age 23, from Buncombe County Asheville, North Carolina .

Parents: David J. Goudlock Sr.

Service era: Korea
Schools: Stephens Lee High graduate, Tuskegee Institute

Date of death: Friday, January 5, 1951
Death details: By mid-November 1950, U.S. and Allied forces had advanced to within approximately sixty miles of the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China. On November 25, approximately 300,000 Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) “volunteers” suddenly and fiercely counterattacked after crossing the Yalu. The 2nd Infantry Division, located the farthest north of units at the Chongchon River, could not halt the CCF advance and was ordered to withdraw to defensive positions at Sunchon in the South Pyongan province of North Korea. As the division pulled back from Kunu-ri toward Sunchon, it conducted an intense rearguard action while fighting to break through well-defended roadblocks set up by CCF infiltrators. The withdrawal was not complete until December 1, and the 2nd Infantry Division suffered extremely heavy casualties in the process. Sergeant David Joseph Goudlock Jr., who joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania, served with Battery B, 503rd Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces on December 1, 1950, as his unit made a fighting withdrawal from Kunu-ri south to Sunchon, North Korea. He was forced to march north to the Pukchin Tarigol Valley, where he died of exhaustion, malnutrition and dysentery in a small, unidentified village on January 5, 1951. His remains have not been identified among those returned to U.S. custody. Sergeant Goudlock is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Asheville Citizen Times (1951)

Lilly, Edmund Jones III
Army 2nd lieutenant

Edmund Jones III Lilly, age 22, from Cumberland County Asheville, North Carolina .

Parents: E. J. Lilly
Spouse: Married

Service era: Korea
Schools: West Point (1950)
Military history: Second Division

Date of death: Sunday, September 3, 1950
Death details: On December 8, 2003, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Second Lieutenant Edmund Jones Lilly III, missing from the Korean War. Second Lieutenant Lilly entered the U.S. Army from North Carolina and served in Company B, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. In late August 1950, Company B occupied Hill 209 near Yongsan, South Korea, which was one of a series of U.S. defensive positions known as the Pusan Perimeter, which was critical for protecting the strategic harbor at Pusan. On August 31, 1950, North Korean People’s Army forces launched an attack on the Pusan Perimeter, and Hill 209 was assaulted by an overwhelming enemy force that captured it after several days of pitched fighting. 2LT Lilly was killed during this battle on September 3, 1950. His body was reportedly located when U.S. forces recaptured the hill, but it could not be recovered at the time. In 2002, a South Korean investigative team found remains on the hill and returned them to U.S. custody. These remains were identified as those of Second Lieutenant Lilly. Second Lieutenant Lilly is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Asheville Citizen Times (1950)

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