Michael Vernon Lalush, age 23, from Troutville, Virginia, Botetourt county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Hmla-169, Mag-39, Mcas Camp Pendleton, California
Date of death: Sunday, March 30, 2003
Death details: Hostile; Near Jalibah Airbase, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense; Library of Virginia, Richmond, Military Times
John Edwin Hill, age 23, from Buchanan, Virginia, Botetourt county.
Parents: Mary S. Hill
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, April 7, 1970
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Richmond Times-Dispatch 1970
Elbyrne Ottla Early from Arcadia, Virginia, Botetourt county.
Parents: William L Early
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. Sergeant Elbyrne O. Early, who joined the U.S. Army from Virginia, was a member of Company C of the 8th Engineer Combat Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, which was assigned to the 8th Cavalry Regiment, positioned near Unsan. The 8th Cavalry Regiment was cut off from its allies during a CCF surprise attack on November 1. Despite fierce resistance, some of the units were overrun by nightfall, forcing a withdrawal. The retreating men passed through the town of Unsan, which was by then thoroughly infiltrated with Chinese, who rained down small arms fire on them from rooftops and from behind roadblocks. Sergeant Early was captured during this retreat. Surviving prisoner of war reports mention that SGT Early died of dysentery in POW Camp 5 at Pyoktong, North Korea, near the Yalu River. His remains have not been recovered, and he could not be associated with any of the remains that North Korean officials returned to U.S. custody after the armistice. Today, Sergeant Early is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Virginia Pilot (1950)