Chilton County Alabama

Alexander, George Thomas Jr
Army Staff Sergeant

George Thomas Jr Alexander, age 34, from Clanton, Alabama, Chilton county.

Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company A, 1St Battalion, 15Th Infantry (Tf Liberty), Fort Benning, Ga

Date of death: Saturday, October 22, 2005
Death details: Died at medical center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas from injuries sustained October 17, 2005 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Bradley Fighting Vehicle in Samarra, Iraq.

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

Coker, Cecil Arthur
Army Private 1st class

Cecil Arthur Coker from Chilton County Clanton, Alabama .

Parents: Roy N. Coker

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. Corporal Cecil Arthur Coker, who joined the U.S. Army from Alabama, served with Battery A, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces on November 30, 1950, as his unit, while making a fighting withdrawal south to Sunchon, was cut off and overrun by Chinese Communist soldiers. He was marched north to Camp 5 at Pyoktong, North Korea, where he died due to malnutrition on an unspecified date soon after arrival. He was buried nearby the campsite by his companions; however, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Corporal Coker 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, Union Banner (1950)

Thomas, Norman R.
Army Private 1st class

Norman R. Thomas, age 20, from Alabama, Chilton county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, July 19, 1942
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor, with food and water extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves, often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Private First Class Norman R. Thomas joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Alabama and served with the 48th Materials Squadron in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of malaria and inanition on July 19, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Private First Class Thomas is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Lecroy, Douglas W.
Army Staff sergeant

Douglas W. Lecroy from Alabama, Chilton county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Thursday, April 9, 1942
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor, with food and water extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves, often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Sergeant Douglas W. LeCroy entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Alabama and served with Headquarters Squadron of the 27th Bombardment Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of beriberi on December 5, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Sergeant LeCroy is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Johnson, Samuel Earle
Navy Commander (medical corps)

Samuel Earle Johnson, age 52, from Clanton, Alabama, Chilton county.

Spouse: Married

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Penton, Howard Lee
Navy Seaman 1st class

Howard Lee Penton, age 27, from Clanton, Alabama, Chilton county.

Parents: Julius Lee Penton

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.

Source: National Archives, Montgomery Advertiser (2000)

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