Bakersfield California

Gombos, Nicholas Nick
Army Captain

Nicholas Nick Gombos, age 30, from Kern County Bakersfield, California .

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, November 30, 1950
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. Captain Nicholas Nick Gombos, who joined the U.S. Army from California, was the Commander of F Company of the 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. On November 29, 1950, while covering the 2nd Division’s retreat, the 38th Infantry Regiment was ordered to defend the area east of Kunu-ri. The CCF attacked as the 38th Infantry consolidated its defenses, forcing the defenders to fight their way back to Kunu-ri before joining the withdrawal into Sunchon. A series of moving battles ensued and Captain Gombos went missing during the fighting. A survivor of the battle reported last seeing CPT Gombos wounded on the battlefield. The captain was never reported confirmed as a POW. Attempts to locate his remains have been unsuccessful, and he could not be associated with those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Captain Gombos 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, Associated Press (1951)

Livermore, Joseph Robert
Marines Private

Joseph Robert Livermore, age 21, from Bakersfield., California, Kern county.

Parents: Dorothy Livermore

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, November 22, 1943
Death details: On June 24, 2019, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified the remains of Private First Class Joseph Robert Livermore, missing from World War II. Private First Class Livermore entered the U.S. Marine Corps from California and served in Company B, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. In late November 1943, PFC Livermore participated in the amphibious assault on Betio Island in the Tarawa Atoll, a part of Operation Galvanic. He was reportedly killed on November 22, and was buried in Divisional 33 cemetery on Tarawa. After the war, the 604th Graves Registration Company recovered hundreds of sets of remains from Betio Island but was unable to locate PFC Livermore. In 2009, the nongovernmental organization History Flight located a burial site on Betio Island that was later identified as Cemetery 33. History Flight and DPAA subsequently excavated the surrounding area and recovered human remains in 2019. These remains were brought to the DPAA Laboratory where analysts used modern forensic tools to individually identify PFC Livermore.

Source: National Archives, ussindianapolis.org, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Brackeen, J. T.
Marines Reserves Corporal

J. T. Brackeen, age 28, from Bakersfield, California, Kern county.

Parents: Ophelia Brackeen

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Cemetery: Honolulu Memorial

Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Lenord, Benjamin Theodore
Marines Reserves Private 1st class

Benjamin Theodore Lenord, age 17, from Bakersfield., California, Kern county.

Parents: and William T. Lenord

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. Private First Class Benjamin Theodore Lenord entered the U.S. Marine Corps from California and served with 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. He was buried in Cemetery #33, Main Marine Cemetery, but his remains were not located in post-war investigations of burial sites on the atoll. Today, Private First Class Lenord is memorialized in the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Tolson, Donald Ross
Marines Private 1st class

Donald Ross Tolson, age 17, from Bakersfield, California, Kern county.

Parents: Ora C. Tolson

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: On September 18, 2017, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private Donald Ross Tolson, missing from World War II. Private Tolson joined the U.S. Marine Corps from California and was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action on November 20, 1943, during the Battle of Betio on Tarawa Atoll. Private Tolson was buried in Cemetery 33 on the island, but investigative efforts following the war failed to locate his remains. In 2017, DPAA partnered with the private organization History Flight, Inc., to conduct excavations on Betio. The remains recovered from the operation were sent to DPAA laboratories on Hawaii for analysis, and advances in forensic techniques allowed Private Tolson to be identified from among them.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Nolatubby, Henry E.
Marines Private 1st class

Henry E. Nolatubby, age 19, from Bakersfield, California, Kern county.

Parents: Henryetta Nolatubby

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Bakerfield Californian (1942)

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