Chatham County Georgia

Rivers, John Ezekiel
Army Private 1st class

John Ezekiel Rivers from Georgia, Chatham county.

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. Corporal John Ezekiel Rivers, who joined the U.S. Army from Georgia, was a member of Company B, 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion. His unit was supporting other U.S. forces in the vicinity of Unsan. After midnight on November 1, 1950, U.S. units in the area were ordered to withdraw to avoid encirclement by the enemy. CCF roadblocks and constant small arms fire led to heavy casualties among the withdrawing men. Corporal Rivers was captured by enemy forces during the battle, and was taken to Camp 5, a prisoner of war camp in Pyoktong, North Korea, where he died on February 24, 1951. His remains have not been recovered or identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Corporal Rivers is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Columbus Ledger (1953)

Watson, Henry C.
Private

Henry C. Watson, age 22, from Savannah, Georgia, Chatham county.

Service era: Early 1900s

Date of death: Monday, August 19, 1901
Death details: Killed in an explosion during practice on the target range at Fort Riley, Kansas
Cemetery: Antioch Church in Sellers, South Carolina

Source: Saint Louis Glob Democrat (1901), findagrave.com

Futch, Arvous
Army Corporal

Arvous Futch from Chatham County Vidalia, Georgia .

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Unknown
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 Arvous Futch, who joined the U.S. Army from Georgia, was a member of the Medical Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by the enemy during the fighting withdrawal from Kunu-ri on December 1. He died of malnutrition in June of 1951, while in enemy custody near Pyoktong, North Korea. His remains have not been recovered, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Sergeant Futch 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, Atlanta Constitution (1954)

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