George Ray Morrison, age 27, from Charleston, Illinois, Coles county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, September 13, 1971
Death details: Non-hostile, died from illness in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Journal Gazette (1971)
Charles William Purcell, age 18, from Coles County Charleston, Illinois .
Parents: Paul Purcell
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Sunday, August 6, 1950
Death details: In early August 1950, members of the U.S. Army’s 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, were defending a bulge in the Naktong River in South Korea as part of a defensive formation known as the Pusan Perimeter. The U.S., United Nations, and South Korean forces were attempting to protect the critical Pusan Harbor from the invading North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) while waiting for U.S. reinforcements to arrive. On August 6, the NKPA initiated a large-scale attack on the perimeter with intentions of capturing capture the town of Taegu, located around the center of the Allied lines. The bulge in the Naktong where the 34th Infantry was positioned was notoriously difficult to defend, and that night, an NKPA battalion slipped through a gap in the perimeter and took positions behind the regiment’s front. The regiment sent its 1st Battalion to repel the NKPA infiltrators, which it did, despite encountering stiff resistance and suffering numerous casualties. Private First Class Charles William Purcell, who joined the U.S. Army from Illinois, served with A Company, 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was reported missing on August 6, 1950, when he could not be located following his unit’s withdrawal from the Naktong River. The exact details of his loss are unknown, and no returning POWs mentioned having contact with him, nor was he seen at any known holding point, interrogation center, hospital, or permanent POW camp. He remains unaccounted-for. Today, Private First Class Purcell 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, Journal Gazette (1954)