William Elliott Allmon, age 25, from Ardmore, Oklahoma, Carter county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company E, 1St Battalion, 64Th Armor, 2 Bct, Fort Stewart, Ga
Date of death: Saturday, April 12, 2008
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Micheal Eugene Phillips, age 19, from Ardmore, Oklahoma, Carter county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company B, 1St Battalion, 502D Infantry, 2 Bct, Fort Campbell, Ky
Date of death: Sunday, February 24, 2008
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Royce Lee Addington, age 21, from Ratliff City, Oklahoma, Carter county.
Parents: Earl E. Addington
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, November 12, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile death
Source: National Archives, Daily Oklahoma (1970)
Jimmie Ferguson Debord, age 26, from Carter County Ardmore, Oklahoma .
Spouse: Bessie D. DeBord
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 30, 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. Sergeant First Class Jimmie F. DeBord, who joined the U.S. Army from Oklahoma, was a member of Heavy Mortar Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action during the fighting withdrawal from Kunu-ri, though specific details regarding his loss are unknown. He was never reported to be alive in enemy hands, and his remains could not be located or identified after the war. Today, Sergeant First Class DeBord 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, Shawnee News Star (1954)
Cecil McCauley Willis from Oklahoma, Carter county.
Spouse: Charline J. Willis
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. Sergeant Cecil M. Willis, who joined the U.S. Army from Oklahoma, was a member of the Medical Detachment of the 8th Engineer Combat Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. At the time of his loss, he was supporting Company C of the 8th Engineer Battalion, positioned with the 8th Cavalry Regiment near Unsan. The 8th Cavalry Regiment was cut off from its allies during a CCF surprise attack on November 1. Despite fierce resistance, some of the units were overrun by nightfall, forcing a withdrawal. The retreating men from the 1st and 2nd Battalion passed through the town of Unsan, which was by then thoroughly infiltrated with Chinese, which substantially complicated the withdrawal. Sergeant Willis was lost on November 2, during the retreat. The exact circumstances and location of his loss are unknown, and he was never reported as a prisoner of war. His remains have not been recovered, and he could not be associated with any of the remains that North Korean officials returned to U.S. custody after the armistice. Today, Sergeant Willis is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Durant Weekly News and Bryan County Democrat (1950)
Luey E. Haines, age 28, from Carter County Wilson, Oklahoma .
Parents: Lee Otis Haines
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, January 9, 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 the journey, 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. Corporal Luey E. Haines, who entered the U.S. Army from Oklahoma, served with the 59th Coast Artillery Regiment and was stationed in the Philippines at the time of the Japanese invasion. He was captured by Japanese forces and interned on the Philippine islands until December 1944, when he was put aboard the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate CPL Haines was killed several weeks later in the attack on the Enoura Maru; however, these reports often involve information solely furnished by enemy governments, with some casualties given multiple dates of death. Future research may determine that these reports were inaccurate. CPL Haines’ remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted for. Today, Corporal Haines is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Daily Ardmoreite (1945)
Billy Turner, age 20, from Ardmore, Oklahoma, Carter county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: December 7, 1941
Death details: On October 1, 2021, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Seaman First Class Billy N. Turner, missing from World War II.
Seaman First Class Turner entered the U.S. Navy from Oklahoma and served on the USS Oklahoma. On December 7, 1941, the battleship USS Oklahoma was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when attacked by Japanese forces. The Oklahoma suffered multiple torpedo hits, causing it to capsize. Four hundred and twenty-nine sailors and Marines were lost, including SEA1 Turner. In the days, months, and years following the attack, remains of men lost aboard the Oklahoma were recovered. Those remains that could not be identified were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Honolulu, Hawaii (NMCP). In 2015, the DPAA received authorization to exhume unknown remains associated with the Oklahoma and reexamine them using advances in forensic technology. From June through November 2015, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) personnel, in cooperation with cemetery officials, exhumed all remaining caskets associated with the USS Oklahoma at the NMCP and transferred the remains to DPAA laboratories. Laboratory analysis and the totality of the circumstantial evidence available established one set of these remains as those of SEA1 Turner.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Billy Turner, age 20, from Carter County Ardmore, Oklahoma .
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: On October 1, 2021, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Seaman First Class Billy N. Turner, missing from World War II. Seaman First Class Turner entered the U.S. Navy from Oklahoma and served on the USS Oklahoma. On December 7, 1941, the battleship USS Oklahoma was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when attacked by Japanese forces. The Oklahoma suffered multiple torpedo hits, causing it to capsize. Four hundred and twenty-nine sailors and Marines were lost, including SEA1 Turner. In the days, months, and years following the attack, remains of men lost aboard the Oklahoma were recovered. Those remains that could not be identified were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Honolulu, Hawaii (NMCP). In 2015, the DPAA received authorization to exhume unknown remains associated with the Oklahoma and reexamine them using advances in forensic technology. From June through November 2015, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) personnel, in cooperation with cemetery officials, exhumed all remaining caskets associated with the USS Oklahoma at the NMCP and transferred the remains to DPAA laboratories. Laboratory analysis and the totality of the circumstantial evidence available established one set of these remains as those of SEA1 Turner.
Source: National Archives
Roy Eugene Wood, age 24, from Carter County Healdton, Oklahoma .
Parents: W.G. Wood
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW MIA Accounting Agency, Healdton Herald (1942)
Billy Turner, age 20, from Carter County Ardmore, Oklahoma .
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: On October 1, 2021, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Seaman First Class Billy N. Turner, missing from World War II. Seaman First Class Turner entered the U.S. Navy from Oklahoma and served on the USS Oklahoma. On December 7, 1941, the battleship USS Oklahoma was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when attacked by Japanese forces. The Oklahoma suffered multiple torpedo hits, causing it to capsize. Four hundred and twenty-nine sailors and Marines were lost, including SEA1 Turner. In the days, months, and years following the attack, remains of men lost aboard the Oklahoma were recovered. Those remains that could not be identified were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Honolulu, Hawaii (NMCP). In 2015, the DPAA received authorization to exhume unknown remains associated with the Oklahoma and reexamine them using advances in forensic technology. From June through November 2015, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) personnel, in cooperation with cemetery officials, exhumed all remaining caskets associated with the USS Oklahoma at the NMCP and transferred the remains to DPAA laboratories. Laboratory analysis and the totality of the circumstantial evidence available established one set of these remains as those of SEA1 Turner.
Source: National Archives