Stephen Albert Seale, age 25, from Martinsburg, West Virginia, Berkeley county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company A, Special Troops Battalion, (4 Id), Fort Campbell, Ky
Date of death: Sunday, August 6, 2006
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Bobby Edward Beasley, age 36, from Inwood, West Virginia, Berkeley county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Hhc, 3D Battalion, 116Th Infantry Regiment, Winchester, Virginia
Date of death: Saturday, August 7, 2004
Death details: Hostile; Kandahar Csh, Afghanistan
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Marion E. Kees, age 35, from Berkeley County Martinsburg, West Virginia .
Parents: Harvey Kees
Service era: Beirut bombings
Date of death: Sunday, October 23, 1983
Death details: Among more than 200 military personnel killed in the terroist bombing of Marine headquarters in Beirut.
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Pittsburgh Press (1983)
Roger Dale Cole, age 21, from Martinsburg, West Virginia, Berkeley county.
Parents: Melvin E. Cole
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, November 12, 1970
Death details: Died from wounds
Source: National Archives, Beckley Post Herald (1970)
Jeffrey Stephen Hatison from Martinsburg, West Virginia, Berkeley county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, July 2, 1970
Source: National Archives
James Calvin Miller, age 20, from Martinsburg, West Virginia, Berkeley county.
Parents: Bruce W. Miller
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, April 1, 1970
Source: National Archives, Beckley Post Herald (1970)
Kenneth William Boward, age 20, from Martinsburg, West Virginia, Berkeley county.
Spouse: Patricia M. Boward
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, January 6, 1970
Source: National Archives, Beckley Post Herald (1970)
Charlie Kenneth Scates, age 28, from Berkeley County Martinsburg, West Virginia .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, February 20, 1966
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: Associated Press (1966)
Hamilton Perry Horner, age 18, from West Virginia, Berkeley county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: During the last week of October 1950, Republic of Korea (ROK) Army forces under the control of the U.S. Eighth Army were advancing deep in North Korean territory, approaching the Yalu River on the Chinese-Korean border. Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) struck back in a surprise attack, engaging the ROK 1st and 6th Divisions near Unsan, some sixty miles north of Pyongyang. The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment in the lead, was rushed forward to reinforce the ROK units in the Unsan area. On November 1, the regiment’s 1st Battalion took up positions north of Unsan, while the 2nd Battalion moved to guard the Nammyon River valley west of town, and the 3rd Battalion was placed in reserve at the valley’s southern end. Corporal Hamilton Perry Horner joined the U.S. Army from West Virginia and served with Headquarters Company of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, Headquarters Company was near Unsan with the 3rd Battalion Command Post when they came under heavy attacks and received orders to withdraw. The withdrawing units were eventually surrounded and besieged by CCF and took cover in foxholes or behind bunkers. Corporal Horner was reported missing during this action and could not be located following the incident, though specific details surrounding his loss are unknown. After the war, returned American POWs reported that CPL Horner had been killed in action. His remains were not recovered, and he was not identified among the remains returned to the U.S. following the armistice. Today, Corporal Horner is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
William Francis Miles, age 25, from Berkeley County Martinsburg, West Virginia .
Parents: Ralph Augusta Miles
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, January 28, 1945
Death details: On December 13, 1944, Japanese forces in the Philippines began the transfer of 1,621 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) to Japan. The POWs were to make the journey aboard transport ships whose harsh conditions and extreme overcrowding led survivors to refer to them as “Hell Ships.” The ships also lacked markings that would distinguish them from any other military target, causing some of them to be attacked by Allied forces who could not identify them as POW transports. On December 14, 1944, Allied aircraft attacked the first ship, the Oryoku Maru, in Subic Bay in the Philippines, killing many Allied POWs who became lost in the water, sank with the ship, or were washed ashore. Survivors of the bombing were put aboard two other ships, the Enoura Maru and the Brazil Maru, to continue on to Japan. During its journey on January 9, 1945, while anchored in Takao Harbor, Formosa (present-day Taiwan), the Enoura Maru was attacked by Allied aircraft from the USS Hornet (CV-8), killing Allied POWs who were lost in the water, on board the ship, or on the nearby shore. Survivors of the Enoura Maru bombing were loaded onto the Brazil Maru, and reached Japan on January 30, 1945. As a result of these incidents, Allied POWs were lost in the Philippines, at sea between the Philippines and Taiwan, while anchored in Taiwan, at sea between Taiwan and Japan, and in Japan. The attacks on these POW transports ultimately resulted in a series of death notifications from the Japanese government through the International Red Cross (IRC), and some casualties were given up to five different dates of death at various locations during the transfer. Witness accounts from surviving POWs offer detailed information for a handful of casualties, but the specific dates of loss and/or last-known locations for many of these POWs are based on the most recent reported date of death. Second Lieutenant William F. Miles Jr. joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania and served with the 2nd Chemical Weapons Services Company in the Philippines during World War II. He was taken as a POW following the Japanese invasion and was interred in the islands until December 1944, when he was transferred to the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate that 2LT Miles survived the attacks on the Oryoku Maru and was eventually transferred to the Brazil Maru. On January 28, 1945, while aboard the Brazil Maru, he reportedly died of wounds he suffered in the prior bombings and was buried at sea. However, these reports often involve information solely furnished by enemy governments, with some casualties given multiple dates of death. Future research may determine that these reports were inaccurate. 2LT Miles’s remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Second Lieutenant Miles is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines. Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency