Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Eric S. Holman, age 39, from Evans City, Pennsylvania, Butler county.
Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 192nd Ordnance Battalion, 52nd Ordnance Group, 20th Support Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Date of death: Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Death details: Died in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan of wounds suffered when he encountered an enemy improvised explosive device.
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Matthew Warren Brown, age 20, from Zelienople, Pennsylvania, Butler county.
Service era: Iraq – Operation Enduring Freedom
Military history: Battery C, 3d Battalion, 321st Field Artillery, Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Date of death: Sunday, May 11, 2008
Death details: Found dead in a watch tower with a gunshot wound to the head in Asadabad, Afghanistan. Military ruled it a suicide but family contested the ruling
Source: Department of Defense, Daily Mail, Military Times
Carl James Morgain, age 40, from Butler, Pennsylvania, Butler county.
Service era: Iraq – Operation Iraqi Freedom
Military history: Company A, 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry, Butler, Pennsylvania
Date of death: Sunday, May 22, 2005
Death details: Hostile, died in Balad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Thomas Ralph Bierline, age 22, from Zelienople, Pennsylvania, Butler county.
Spouse: Theresa R. Bierline
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, November 19, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile, died in South Vietnam.
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Paul Edward Allard from Butler, Pennsylvania, Butler county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, April 28, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam.
Source: National Archives
David Charles Bugman, age 22, from Fairview, Pennsylvania, Butler county.
Parents: Robert C. Bugman
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, April 28, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam.
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Elgie Dewayne Brown from West Sunbury, Pennsylvania, Butler county.
Parents: Ralph A. Brown
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 Elgie D. Brown, who entered the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania, was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, units of the 3rd Battalion, including Company I, were positioned overlooking the Nammyon River valley, south of Unsan. That day, the Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) used intense rocket fire and infantry assaults to infiltrate ROK lines and move into Unsan. The quickly developing danger forced members of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions to withdraw. When the 3rd Battalion, the last unit to leave the area, became surrounded, its isolated units built a defensive perimeter in an attempt to hold out against the CCF. CPL Brown was reported missing in action after this fighting; no one witnessed his death and his name did not appear on any POW lists. No recovered remains have been attributed to him. Today, Corporal Brown is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Franklin News Herald (1954)
George Louis Spangeberg from Pennsylvania, Butler county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: On August 14, 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private First Class George Louis Spangenberg, missing from World War II. Private First Class George Louis Spangenberg joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania and was a member of Company E of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, his company was in defensive positions near Unsan, North Korea, when they came under heavy attacks, were nearly surrounded by Chinese Communist Forces, and were forced to withdraw. PFC Spangenberg was killed in action during this withdrawal, though exact circumstances surrounding his loss are unknown. His body was buried near Unsan. In 1997, a joint U.S./ North Korean investigative team recovered remains possibly associated with a U.S. service member near Unsan. These remains were repatriated to the U.S. but could not be identified at the time. In 2018, using modern forensic techniques, DPAA analysts successfully identified these remains as those of PFC Spangenberg.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Harold Othell Fullerton from Pennsylvania, Butler county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Sunday, October 1, 1950
Death details: On July 11, 1950, the U.S. Army’s 21st Infantry Regiment, which had arrived in Korea six days earlier, was placed in defensive positions near the town of Chochiwon, South Korea. The regiment was not at full strength and lacked artillery and anti-tank weapons. That day, they were attacked by North Korean forces and were forced to withdraw to avoid being surrounded, as well as to buy time until they could be reinforced and resupplied. Private First Class Harold Othell Fullerton, who joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania, served with L Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces near Chochiwon, and forced to march north to a temporary prison camp at Manpo, North Korea. He died there on October 1 of exposure and pneumonia and was buried near the camp by his companions; however, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the cease fire. Today, Private First Class Fullerton is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Carl P. Fishel, age 27, from Pennsylvania, Butler county.
Service era: World War I
Date of death: Thursday, October 10, 1918
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: maa
Source: Soldiers of the Great War, findagrave.com