Ashland County Wisconsin

Nelson, Thomas Edward
Army Private 1st class

Thomas Edward Nelson, age 21, from Wisconsin, Ashland county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, July 9, 1953
Death details: On July 6, 1953, a large Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) unit attacked and overran the U.S. Army outposts on Pork Chop Hill in an attempt to seize whatever territory possible before the impending armistice agreement. After fighting for the position for four days, on July 10, the 7th Infantry Division Commander determined that the CCF disregard for casualties and desire to hold the outpost outweighed the position’s tactical value, and ordered a withdrawal that was eventually completed on July 11. The U.S. never again controlled Pork Chop Hill, preventing thorough recovery efforts for those who were killed or went missing during the fighting. Private First Class Thomas Edward Nelson, who joined the U.S. Army from Wisconsin, served with Company C, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was killed in action on July 9 when his unit was brought into the battle to counter-attack the Chinese troops that had overran their positions on the hill. Due to conditions on the battlefield, his body could not be immediately recovered, and U.S. forces regained control of the area where he fell. His remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Private First Class Nelson is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Walczewski, Edmund Raymond
Marines Private 1st class

Edmund Raymond Walczewski, age 23, from Butternut, Wisconsin, Ashland county.

Parents: Max Walczewski

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: From November 20 through 23, 1943, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy conducted a large-scale amphibious assault on the Japanese-held atoll of Tarawa as part of Operation Galvanic, the Allied capture of the Gilbert Islands. Located 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, Tarawa was a crucial stepping stone in the planned U.S. offensive across the central Pacific toward Japan. The Japanese garrison on Tarawa’s main island of Betio was well-entrenched with hundreds of bunkers and gun positions behind formidable beach obstacles. The first wave of Marines approaching the shore encountered lower-than-expected tides, forcing them to leave their landing craft on the reef and wade the hundreds of yards to the beach under intense enemy fire. The heaviest number of U.S. casualties were suffered during this phase of the landing. Eventually, rising tides allowed U.S. warships to maneuver closer to shore and support the troops with effective naval gunfire. More Marines landed on the second day, launching attacks inland from the beaches and seizing the Japanese airfield on the island. However, the enemy launched vicious counterattacks and two more days of intense fighting were needed to secure Betio. The last enemy strongpoints were taken on the morning of November 23. The fighting on Betio cost the Marines nearly 3,000 casualties but enabled U.S. forces to press further across the Pacific and yielded valuable tactical lessons that reduced U.S. losses in future amphibious landings. Corporal Edmund Raymond Walczewski joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Minnesota and was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, which took part in the Battle of Tarawa. On November 20, 1943, he was killed in action on Tarawa. Corporal Walczewski was buried in Cemetery #33, but after the war his remains were not recovered, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Corporal Walczewski is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Jeffers, Edmond H.
Army Technician 4

Edmond H. Jeffers from Wisconsin, Ashland county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Wednesday, June 10, 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, with food and water 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. Technician Fourth Grade Edmond H. Jeffers joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Wisconsin and was a member of Headquarters Squadron, 20th Air Base Group, in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942 and died of dysentery on June 10, 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, Technician Fourth Grade Jeffers is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Curtis, Lyle Carl
Navy Radioman 2nd class

Lyle Carl Curtis, age 23, from Ashland County Glidden, Wisconsin .

Parents: Ralph George Curtis

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed at Pearl Harbor

Source: National Archives, UPI (1941)

Gaudur, Edward O.
Private

Edward O. Gaudur, age 24, from Ashland County Ashland, Wisconsin .

Service era: World War I

Date of death: Friday, October 25, 1918
Death details: Killed in action

Source: Soldiers of the Great War

Friske, Robert E.
Private

Robert E. Friske from Ashland, Wisconsin, Ashland county.

Service era: World War I

Date of death: Thursday, October 3, 1918
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: Mount Hope in Ashland

Source: Soldiers of the Great War, findagrave.com

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