Columbia County Florida

Garbett, Jimmy Ray
Army Sergeant

Jimmy Ray Garbett, age 31, from Lake City, Florida, Columbia county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, October 9, 1969
Death details: On October 9, 1969, a UH-1D Iroquois (tail number 63-8826) with nine men aboard was taking off after a troop extraction when its rotor blades struck some trees along the Dong Na River bank. In an attempt to regain altitude and airspeed, the pilot headed over the river, but the helicopter soon struck the water and sank within seconds. Other aircraft in the area surveyed the crash site and observed personnel and debris in the water, but they were soon swept under by the swift current. Only two men were able to survive the crash and swim to shore to be rescued. The remains of two other individuals who were aboard the helicopter were eventually recovered and identified, but the remaining five men are still unaccounted for. Specialist 4 Jimmy Ray Garbett entered the U.S. Army from Florida and served in Company A, 5th Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 199th Light Infantry Brigade. He was a passenger on board this helicopter at the time of its crash and could not be located following the incident. Attempts to recover his remains were unsuccessful. The Army promoted Specialist 4 Garbett to the rank of sergeant after the incident. Today, Sergeant Garbett is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Callahan, Carlis Julius
Army Sergeant 1st class

Carlis Julius Callahan, age 34, from Florida, Columbia county.

Parents: W.J. Callahan
Spouse: Married
Children: Carlis Jr. and Dennis

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. Master Sergeant Carlis J. Callahan, who joined the U.S. Army from Florida, was a member of Company M, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, Company M was providing security for the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment Command Post near Unsan when it was hit by a surprise enemy mortar and infantry attack. At some point during the attack, MSG Callahan was captured, though specific details are unknown. His name did not appear on any official prisoner of war (POW) records, but surviving POWs reported that MSG Callahan died of internal hemorrhages and was buried at the Pyoktong POW Camp on the Yalu River. His remains were not recovered, nor were they identified among the remains returned to the U.S. following the ceasefire. Today, Master Sergeant Callahan is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Tampa Tribune (1953)

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