Jose Alejandro Paniagua-Morales, age 22, from Bell Gardens, California, Los Angeles county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company C, 4Th Battalion, 9Th Infantry, 4 Bct, Fort Lewis, Wa
Date of death: Friday, March 7, 2008
Death details: Hostile; Balad, Iraq. Died when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Jose Luis Jr Mora, age 26, from Bell Gardens, California, Los Angeles county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company C 1St Battalion 12Th Infantry, Fort Carson, Colorado 80913
Date of death: Friday, October 24, 2003
Death details: Hostile; Samaria, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Rex Edwin Thornley, age 19, from Bell Gardens, California, Los Angeles county.
Parents: Stepfather Bobby LaPlant, father Rex Thornley Sr.
Spouse: Engaged to marry Jean Jefferson of South Gate when he returned
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Bell Gardens High
Date of death: Thursday, June 11, 1970
Death details: Killed while on patrol near Da Nang, Vietnam
Source: National Archives, South Gate Press (1970)
Ray O. Earl, age 25, from Bell Gardens, California, Los Angeles county.
Spouse: Dorothy J. Earl
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Wednesday, May 28, 1952
Death details: Killed when the B-36 bomber he was aboard crashed on a runway at Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas
Source: Fort Worth Star Telegram (1952), UP (1952)
Max Swain Holt, age 18, from Los Angeles County Bell Gardens, California .
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Monday, April 30, 1951
Death details: On February 5, 1951, Allied forces in Korea launched an offensive against North Korean and Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) north of Wonju. Republic of Korea units and the 38th Infantry Regiment and supporting artillery units, including the 15th and 503rd Field Artillery Battalions, and the 82nd Antiaircraft Artillery and Automatic Weapons Battalion, initially met light resistance on their drive to the north. On February 11, the CCF launched an aggressive counteroffensive that caused the Allies to withdraw back southward. However, the CCF had established a series of roadblocks on the road to the south, forcing the Allies to fight their way back to friendly lines. Private First Class Max Swain Holt entered the U.S. Army from California and was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. On February 13, 1951, he was clearing a roadblock north of Wonju, South Korea, when he was taken as a prisoner of war (POW). Following his capture, he was marched with other prisoners to temporary holding camps in North Korea. Private First Class Holt died on April 30, 1951, at a camp near Pyongyang. U.S. investigators have not been able to access the area to search for his burial site, and he was not associated with any of the remains later returned to U.S. custody. Today, Private First Class Holt 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, Santa Barbara News Press (1951)
Francis Jr. Gilbert, age 21, from Los Angeles County Bell Gardens, California .
Parents: Eleanora Fontes
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. Corporal Francis Gilbert Jr., who joined the U.S. Army from California, was a member of H Company of the 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. On November 29, the 38th Infantry Regiment was ordered to defend the area east of Kunu-ri, to cover the start of the 2nd Division’s retreat. The CCF attacked as the 38th Infantry consolidated their defenses, forcing the defenders to fight their way back to Kunu-ri before joining the withdrawal to Sunchon. A series of moving battles ensued, and CPL Gilbert went missing at some point during the fighting. He was never reported as a prisoner of war. Corporal Gilbert’s remains have not been recovered, and he has not been associated with any remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Corporal Gilbert 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, Pomona Progress Bulletin (1954)
Jack Judson Cunningham, age 21, from Los Angeles County Bell Gardens, California .
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Unknown
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 Jack Judson Cunningham, who joined the U.S. Army from California, served with Headquarters, Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces on November 30, 1950, during his unit’s withdrawal from Kunu-ri to Sunchon. He was then marched with a large group of other prisoners to the Pukchin-Tarigol Valley. He suffered from frost bite, and according to a fellow prisoner, a Chinese doctor attempted to operate on him at a primitive field hospital near Pukchin-Tarigol and Sergeant Cunningham died soon after. His surviving companions disagree on the exact date of his death. His remains have not been recovered. Today, Sergeant Cunningham is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Los Angeles Times (1951)