John Wayne Brown, age 19, from Bruce, Mississippi, Calhoun county.
Parents: Willie Brown
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, June 19, 1970
Death details: Killed in action
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Brown, John Wayne
Clanton, Robert Waine
Army Private 1st class
Robert Waine Clanton from Calhoun County Bruce, Mississippi .
Parents: Minnie McKnight
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Friday, December 1, 1950
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. Corporal Robert Waine Clanton, who joined the U.S. Army from Michigan, served with the Headquarters Battery, 82nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured on December 1, 1950, as his unit provided firing cover for the withdrawing 2nd Infantry Division troops near Kunu-ri, North Korea. He was marched to POW Camp 5 near Pyoktong, North Korea, where he died of dysentery and malnutrition on March 1, 1951, and was buried near the camp. His remains were not recovered at the time, and he has not been identified among those remains returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Corporal Clanton 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, Associated Press (1954)
Massey, Stanley Edwin
Marines Private 1st class
Stanley Edwin Massey, age 21, from Bruce, Mississippi, Calhoun county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Monday, November 22, 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 Stanley Edwin Massey joined the U.S. Marine Corps from California and was a member of Company D, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, which took part in the Battle of Tarawa. On November 22, 1943, Cpl Massey was killed in action against the enemy on Tarawa. His body was buried in Cemetery #11 on Betio Island, but post-war searches of the island were unable to locate his remains. Today, Corporal Massey is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Wade, Durell
Navy Aviation machinist’s mate 2nd class
Durell Wade, age 23, from Calhoun County Calhoun City, Mississippi .
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Oklahoma. Accounted for April 11, 2018
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency