Zainah C. Creamer, age 28, from Texarkana, Texas, Bowie county.
Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 212th Military Police Detachment, Headquarters Battalion, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Date of death: Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Death details: Died in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked her unit with an improvised explosive device.
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Kyle B. Stout, age 25, from Texarkana, Texas, Bowie county.
Parents: Billy M. Stout and Robin C. Stout
Spouse: None
Service era: Aghanistan
Military history: 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Date of death: Friday, July 30, 2010
Death details: Died in Kandahar, Afghanistan of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.
Source: Department of Defense, Texarkana Gazette, Military Times
Victor Lee Black, age 21, from DeKalb, Texas, Bowie county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, October 22, 1970
Source: National Archives, UPI (1970)
Howard Lee Elder, age 19, from Texarkana, Texas, Bowie county.
Parents: Jasper B. Elder
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, July 8, 1970
Source: National Archives, Fort Worth Star Telegram (1970)
William Vernon Hullinger, age 22, from Hooks, Texas, Bowie county.
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 William Vernon Hullinger joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Louisiana and served with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action during the Battle of Tarawa on November 20, 1943. He was buried on Betio Island in Cemetery #33, Main Marine Cemetery, but his remains could not be found in post-war searches of burial sites on Tarawa. Today, Private First Class Hullinger is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Houston Oneal Thomas, age 20, from Bowie County Texarkana, Texas .
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
Howard L. Fortson from Texarkana, Texas, Bowie county.
Service era: World War I
Date of death: Sunday, July 21, 1918
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: Mount Zion in DeBerry, Texas
Source: Soldiers of the Great War, findagrave.com