Nicholas Aaron Gummersall, age 23, from Chubbuck, Idaho, Bannock county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company B, 1St Battalion, 23D Infantry, Fort Lewis, Wa
Date of death: Monday, August 6, 2007
Death details: Hostile; Baqubah, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Idaho State Journal
Steven Dee Merrell, age 20, from Pocatello, Idaho, Bannock county.
Parents: Max D. Merrell
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, May 15, 1970
Death details: Died from fragmentation
Source: National Archives, Idaho State Journal (1970)
Stanley M. Prosser from Idaho, Bannock county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, August 15, 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. Corporal Stanley M. Prosser entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Idaho and served in the 20th Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit 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 August 15, 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, Corporal Prosser is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Christopher R. Bloxham, age 24, from Idaho, Bannock county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, August 1, 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 and food and water supplied 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. Private First Class Christopher R. Bloxham entered the U.S. Army from Idaho and served with Company M of the 31st Infantry Regiment, which was stationed in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured following the American surrender and eventually interned at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp, where he died of malaria on August 1, 1942. 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, Private First Class Bloxham is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Cemetery: Manila American Cemetery
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency