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
Stephen Owen Musselman, age 26, from Bowie County Texarkana, Texas .
Parents: Ethyl Musselman
Spouse: Norma Jean
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, September 10, 1972
Death details: On July 20, 1981, the Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii(CILH, now DPAA) identified the remains of Lieutenant Stephen Owen Musselman, missing from the Vietnam War. Lieutenant Musselman joined the U.S. Navy from Texas and was a member of Attack Squadron 82. On September 10, 1972, he piloted an A-7C Corsair II (bureau number 156798) on a mission over Ha Tay Province, Vietnam. Lieutenant Musselman’s Corsair was downed by a surface-to-air missile over Ha Tay; he ejected from the aircraft but died at some point afterwards, although the detailed circumstances of his loss are not known. In July 1981, the Vietnamese government returned a set of remains that they had associated with LT Musselman, and U.S. analysts confirmed the identification a short time later. Lieutenant Musselman is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Associated Press (1981)
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)
James William Brown, age 19, from Bowie County Maud, Texas .
Parents: William C. Embry
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, April 5, 1966
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, The Monitor (1966)
Richard Edward Steel, age 32, from Bowie County Texarkana, Texas .
Parents: Richard Steel
Spouse: Mary B. Steel
Children: Richard Kevin, Randall Kirk, Kamala Lea Steel
Service era: Vietnam
Military history: 229th Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division
Date of death: Thursday, November 4, 1965
Cemetery: Fort Benning
Source: National Archivesm Kedger /ebqyurer *1865(/
Deane Alva Pomeroy, age 26, from Bowie County Texarkana, Texas .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, May 30, 1964
Source: National Archives
Poland C. Meeks, age 27, from Bowie County Texarkana, Texas .
Parents: Luke P. Meeks
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, January 16, 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 Poland C. Meeks joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Texas and served in the 2nd Observation Squadron during the defense of the Philippines. He was taken as a POW following the Japanese invasion and was interned in the Philippines until December 1944, when he was transferred to the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. 2nd Lt Meeks survived the sinking of the Oryoku Maru and the attack on the Enoura Maru before he was transferred to the Brazil Maru. He reportedly died on January 16, 1945, from wounds sustained during the bombing of the Enoura Maru. However, these records often involve information furnished by enemy governments, with some casualties given multiple dates of death. Future research may determine these reports were inaccurate. 2nd Lt Meeks’s remains could not be identified following the war and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Second Lieutenant Meeks 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, The Times (1945)
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