Bryan Anthony Lewis, age 32, from Bunkie, Louisiana, Avoyelles county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: 258Th Military Police Co, 519Th Mp Bn, 49Th Military Police Bde, Fort Polk, Louisiana
Date of death: Monday, March 13, 2006
Death details: Hostile; Rustamiyah, Iraq. Killed when an improvised device detonated near his Humvee.
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Leonard Paul Jr. Garcia, age 18, from Avoyelles County Bunkie, Louisiana .
Service era: Korea
Schools: Bunkie High graduate, Louisiana State University
Date of death: Friday, October 20, 1950
Death details: In late July of 1950, members of the 3rd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, served as part of U.S. forces defending Korea from the advancing North Korean People’s Army (NKPA). On July 24, they were attached to the 19th Infantry Regiment, which was positioned at the southern portion of the American defensive line. On July 25, they received a warning to secure the Hadong Pass in South Korea before the NKPA arrived there. Upon the Americans’ arrival on July 27, they were ambushed by a large enemy force. Despite mounting a fierce resistance, the 19th Infantry Regiment and attached units were unable to stop the NKPA from capturing the pass. The 3rd Battalion suffered significant casualties as a result of the battle. Corporal Leonard Paul Garcia Jr., who joined the U.S. Army from Louisiana, was a member of L Company, 3rd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured by the North Koreans at Hadong on or about July 27, 1950, and was executed at Sunchon, North Korea, on or about October 20. U.S. Army Graves Registration Services interred his remains at the United Nations Military Cemetery at Pyongyang. The North Korean government returned most of the remains from that cemetery in 1954; however, it is not known if CPL Garcia’s were returned as an unknown at that time, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Corporal Garcia 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: Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Bunkie Record (1951), The Times (1951)
Elton Joseph Bernard from Avoyelles County Bunkie, Louisiana .
Parents: Simon and Lydia Bernard
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 Elton Joseph Bernard, who joined the U.S. Army from Louisiana, served with Battery D, 82nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action on December 1, 1950, as his unit provided direct fire support during this withdrawal. He was reportedly seen briefly alive in enemy hands, however, this was not confirmed and his name never appeared on any prisoner of war rosters. He has not been identified among any remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Sergeant Bernard 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, Marksville Weekly News (2009)