Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Christopher W. Eckard, age 30, from Hickory, North Carolina, Catawba county.
Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Date of death: Saturday, February 20, 2010
Death details: Died while supporting combat operation in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Darryl Wardlaw Linder, age 23, from Hickory, North Carolina, Catawba county.
Children: Kyle, 3
Service era: Iraq
Schools: Fred T. Foard High graduate
Military history: Company A, 1St Battalion, 12Th Cavalry, 3 Bct, Fort Hood, Tx
Date of death: Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Death details: Died from wounds suffered from a roadside bomb that exploded in Baqubah, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Brian Lee Holden, age 37, from Claremont, North Carolina, Catawba county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Battery A, 2D Battalion, 17Th Field Artillery, 2 Bct, Fort Carson, Colorado
Date of death: Monday, April 9, 2007
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Jason Isaac Huffman, age 23, from Conover, North Carolina, Catawba county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Hhc, 2D Battalion, 27Th Infantry, Schofield Barracks, Hi
Date of death: Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Death details: Hostile; Hawijah, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Benny Gray III Cockerham, age 21, from Conover, North Carolina, Catawba county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: E Co, 2D Bn, 2D Mar, (Rct-8, Ii Mef Fwd), 2D Mar Div, Camp Lejeune, Nc
Date of death: Friday, October 21, 2005
Death details: His vehicle was traveling beside a canal when attacked in Zaidon, Iraq. He was thrown from the vehicle into the water and died.
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Robin Frederic Jr. Gatwood, age 26, from Hickory, North Carolina, Catawba county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, April 2, 1972
Death details: On April 2, 1972, an EB-66 Destroyer (tail number 54-0466, call sign “Bat 21”) with six crew members took off from Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base for an electronic countermeasures mission over South Vietnam. While over the target area, an escort aircraft saw a surface-to-air missile (SAM) explode near “Bat 21,” after which the aircraft began trailing flames from both wings. “Bat 21” then broke into pieces and crashed. No parachutes were witnessed, although one rescue beeper was heard resulting in one crew member being rescued following the crash. The survivor reported the SAM had exploded below and behind the aircraft. The other five crew members are believed to have died in the incident and their remains were not recovered. First Lieutenant Robin Frederick Gatwood Jr. entered the U.S. Air Force from North Carolina and served in the 42nd Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron, 388th Tactical Fighter Wing. He was an electronic warfare officer aboard “Bat 21” when it was shot down and attempts to locate and recover his remains were unsuccessful. Following the incident, the Air Force promoted 1st Lt Gatwood to the rank of Captain (Capt). Today, Captain Gatwood is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com
Ronald Waitsel Isenhour, age 21, from Hickory, North Carolina, Catawba county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, November 5, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile death
Source: National Archives, Durham Sun (1970)
James Walter Crider, age 39, from Hickory, North Carolina, Catawba county.
Parents: George W. Crider
Spouse: Married
Children: Gerry and Ronald
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, June 24, 1970
Source: National Archives, Charlotte Observer (1970)
John Taylor Burke, age 28, from Newton, North Carolina, Catawba county.
Parents: Henry M. Wagstaff
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: On May 15, 2019, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private First Class John Taylor Burke, missing from World War II. Private First Class Burke entered the U.S. Marine Corps from North Carolina and served in Company B, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action between November 21 and November 23, during the amphibious assault on Betio Island during the Battle of Tarawa. His remains were initially recovered and buried in a temporary cemetery on the island; however, he could not be individually identified at the time, and PFC Burke was later interred as an unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (also known as the Punchbowl). In 2017, additional information and advances in forensic techniques led to the reexamination of unknowns from the Battle of Tarawa buried at the Punchbowl. DPAA analysts were eventually able to successfully identify PFC Burke from among these remains.
Cemetery: Buried in 2019 in Catawba County
Source: National Archives, 11 ABC, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Donald Lanford Drum, age 22, from Durham, North Carolina, Catawba county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: On the morning of December 7, 1941, during the attack on Pearl Harbor, the USS West Virginia (BB-48) was moored outboard from the USS Tennessee (BB-43). Five 18-inch aircraft torpedoes and two armor piercing bombs converted from 16-inch naval shells hit the West Virginia in its port side. The first bomb punctured the ship’s deck, causing it to collapse. The second was a dud, though it ignited aircraft fuel and sent billows of toxic smoke into the air. The enemy bombs and torpedoes killed and wounded many of those on board the battleship. While the extensive damage to the hull caused the West Virginia to sink, the crew’s efforts to keep it from capsizing meant the battleship could be salvaged, and it managed to return to service later in the war. Fireman Second Class Donald Landford Drum, who entered the U.S. Navy from North Carolina, served aboard the West Virginia at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack. He was lost during the sinking and his remains have not been recovered. Today, Fireman Second Class Drum is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com