Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Jason N. Barfield, age 22, from Ashford, Alabama, Houston county.
Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California.
Date of death: Monday, October 24, 2011
Death details: Died while conducting combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
James Ottis Whitehurst, age 20, from Ashford, Alabama, Houston county.
Parents: Benjamin E. Whitehurst
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: On August 11, 2016, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private First Class James Ottis Whitehurst, missing from World War II. Private First Class Whitehurst entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Alabama and served with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action on November 20, 1943, during the assault on the Japanese-controlled Betio Island of Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands; however, his remains were not recovered at the time. In 2015, History Flight, Inc. unearthed a burial trench on Betio Island and recovered the remains of U.S. Marines who fought during this battle; the remains were turned over to DPAA and advanced forensic techniques allowed for the identification of PFC Whitehurst from among them.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency