Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Donnie Ray Belser Jr., age 28, from Anniston, Alabama, Calhoun county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: 425Th Mitt, 3 Bct, 1Cd (Task Org To 25Th Id), Fort Riley, Ks
Date of death: Saturday, February 10, 2007
Death details: Hostile; Balad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Legacy
Cody Gordon Watson, age 21, from Oxford, Alabama, Calhoun county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: E Btry, 2D Bn, 10Th Mar, 2D Mar Div, Camp Lejeune, Nc
Date of death: Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Death details: Fallujah, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Travis Lynn Nelson, age 41, from Anniston, Alabama, Calhoun county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company B, 1St Bn, 502D Infantry, 2D Bct (Tf Baghdad), Fort Campbell, Ky
Date of death: Saturday, December 10, 2005
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Charles Guyn Haight, age 23, from Jacksonville, Alabama, Calhoun county.
Spouse: Michelle (Story) Haight
Children: Gabriel, 10 months, Lacey (died as infant in 2001)
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Hhc 14Th Engineering Battalion, Fort Lewis, Wa 98433
Date of death: Friday, December 26, 2003
Death details: Died when the Humvee he was riding in was struck by a roadside bomb in Balad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Timothy J. Jackson, age 20, from Anniston, Alabama, Calhoun county.
Parents: Annie Jackson
Service era: Gulf War
Date of death: Friday, December 21, 1990
Death details: Killed when a ferry capsized near Haifa, Israel.
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Department of Defense, Battle Creek Enquirer (1990)
Willie Jr. Hoover from Anniston, Alabama, Calhoun county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, June 13, 1972
Source: National Archives
Leagrant Badgett, age 25, from Piedmont, Alabama, Calhoun county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, September 21, 1971
Death details: Non-hostile death
Source: National Archives, Montgomery Advertiser (1971)
John Eugene Phillips, age 24, from Oxford, Alabama, Calhoun county.
Parents: John H. Phillips
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. Corporal John Eugene Phillips joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Alabama and served with Company D, 2nd Battalion, 18th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action on November 20, 1943 on Betio Island during the Battle of Tarawa. His remains were not located in searches of the island after the war, and he is still unaccounted for. Today, Corporal Phillips is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
William Francis Roberts, age 24, from Oxford, Alabama, Calhoun county.
Parents: George Wyatt Roberts
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, Anniston Star (1942), Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency