Garrett Tucker Lawton, age 31, from Charleston, West Virginia, Kanawha county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: H Co, 2D Msob, Marsoc, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Date of death: Monday, August 4, 2008
Death details: Hostile; , Afghanistan
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Adam Johnson Crumpler, age 19, from Charleston, West Virginia, Kanawha county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: K Co, 3D Bn, 2D Mar, (Rct-2), 2D Mar Div, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Date of death: Saturday, June 18, 2005
Death details: Hostile; Karabilah, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Deforest Lee Talbert, age 22, from Charleston, West Virginia, Kanawha county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: C Company, 1St Battalion, 150Th Armor Regiment, Beckley, West Virginia
Date of death: Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Death details: Hostile; Balad Ruz, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Gary Wayne Tawney, age 22, from Kanawha County Charleston, West Virginia .
Parents: Dennis C. Tawney
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, January 11, 1972
Source: National Archives, Beckley Post Herald (1972)
Michael Wayne Haynes, age 20, from Charleston, West Virginia, Kanawha county.
Parents: Thomas J. Haynes
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, April 15, 1970
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Beckley Post Herald (1970)
Danny Lee Dawson, age 18, from Charleston, West Virginia, Kanawha county.
Parents: Edward Dawson
Spouse: Constance (Russell)
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Nitro High
Date of death: Friday, April 10, 1970
Death details: Died when he fell from a guard tower at a base camp in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Charleston Daily Mail (1970)
Roger Dale Legg, age 24, from Charleston, West Virginia, Kanawha county.
Parents: Winfield Legg
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: DuPont High
Date of death: Wednesday, March 11, 1970
Cemetery: Cunningham Memorial Park
Source: National Archives, Charleston Daily Mail (1970)
Howard Joseph Davies, age 29, from Charleston, West Virginia, Kanawha county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Wednesday, March 5, 1952
Death details: On the evening of March 5, 1952, a B-26 Invader (tail number 44-34542A, call sign “Pintail 09”) with a crew of four departed Kunsan Air Base on a night intruder mission east of Pyongyang, North Korea. The last contact with the aircraft occurred as it crossed over into North Korea, and the controller gave the pilot the coordinates of his target, an enemy supply train. The pilot acknowledged the coordinates, although when he read them back to the controller, one digit was off. The controller promptly corrected him, but the pilot did not acknowledge the correction. It is uncertain whether the aircraft proceeded to the correct coordinates, or to the erroneous ones, which would have placed the aircraft one-hundred miles off course. The aircraft failed to return to base and was not heard from again. Search efforts were unable to locate the Invader, and none of the crew were reported to be prisoners of war. Captain Howard Joseph Davies, who joined the U.S. Air Force from West Virginia, served with the 8th Bombardment Squadron, 3rd Bombardment Wing (Light). He was the pilot of this B-26 when it disappeared, and he was lost in the incident. No returning POWs mentioned having contact with Capt Davies, nor was he seen at any known holding point, interrogation center, hospital, or permanent POW camp. His remains have not been recovered and Capt Davies is still unaccounted-for. Today, Captain Davies 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
Harold Ora Keister, age 31, from Charleston, West Virginia, Kanawha county.
Parents: Mrs. Curtis Swisher and Arlie Keister
Spouse: Alpha Lee (Wooten) Keister
Children: Marlene, 6; John Harold, 3
Service era: Korea
Schools: Romney High (1938)
Date of death: Thursday, August 30, 1951
Death details: On August 30, 1951, a B-26B Invader (tail number 41-39442A, call sign “Skillful 13”) carrying three crew members took off from Kunsan Airdrome, South Korea, as one of three aircraft on a low-level night intruder mission against enemy targets on roads and rail lines between Sariwon and Pyongsan, North Korean. Two of the aircraft dropped their ordnance and returned to base; however, the crew of “Skillful 13” radioed they would remain in the area to expend its remaining ordnance. Approximately one and a half hours after it arrived in the target area, this aircraft reported it was returning to base, but no further radio contact was made. When the aircraft was overdue to its home base, an air search was initiated but found no trace of the missing B-26 or its crew; however, three parachutes were observed on the ground near the B-26’s last reported position in the air, which were suspected to be those of the crew of Skillful 13. Captain Harold Ora Keister entered the U.S. Air Force from West Virginia and served with the 8th Bombardment Squadron, 3rd Bombardment Group (Light). He was the navigator aboard this Invader when it was lost, and he went missing with the aircraft. No returning POWs mentioned having contact with Capt Keister, nor was he seen at any known holding point, interrogation center, hospital, or permanent POW camp. He remains unaccounted-for. Today, Captain Keister is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Cumberland Evening Times (1951)
Charles Joseph Brown from Charleston, West Virginia, Kanawha county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: In early November 1950, Brown was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, when the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) attacked the regiment and forced the unit to withdraw to the village of Ipsok, approximately five miles south of Unsan. The survivors attempted to set up a defensive perimeter, but many soldiers became surrounded and attempted to escape and evade the enemy, but the majority were captured and marched to POW camps. Between 1990 and 1994, North Korea returned to the United States 208 boxes of commingled human remains, which helped account for the remains of at least 600 U.S. servicemen who fought during the war. Lab analysis, in conjunction with the totality of circumstantial evidence available, established Brown’s remains were included.
Cemetery: Sarasota National
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com