Lance Murphy Clark, age 21, from Cookeville, Tennessee, Putnam county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: 1St Bn, 1St Mar Div, (Rct-6, Ii Mef Fwd), Camp Pendleton, Ca
Date of death: Friday, September 7, 2007
Death details: Saqlawiyah, Iraq
Cemetery: Bethlehem Methodist Church in Okalona, Tennessee
Source: Department of Defense, findagrave.com
Carl Edward Gilbert, age 24, from Cookeville, Tennessee, Putnam county.
Spouse: Charlotte Gilbert
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, January 6, 1970
Death details: Killed in action in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Edward Moore Lemon, age 27, from Cookeville, Tennessee, Putnam county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, March 26, 1953
Death details: In late March 1953, elements of the 1st Marine Division manned a string of outposts along a 33-mile section of the main line of resistance on the Korean Peninsula, near the present-day Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The 1st Marine Division’s 5th Marine Regiment was responsible for three of these outposts, named Carson, Reno, and Vegas, or collectively “the Nevada Cities Complex.” On March 26, Chinese Communist Forces attacked all three outposts. Although Carson managed to stave off the assault, Reno and Vegas, which were more lightly manned, eventually succumbed to the enemy. Over 1,000 Marines were killed, wounded, or went missing during the attack on the Nevada Cities Complex. Private First Class Edward Moore Lemon, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Tennessee, served with C Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He was killed in action on March 26, 1953, during the attack on the Reno outpost, though specific details of his loss are not known. The area where he was lost never reverted to Allied control, precluding a search for his remains. Today, Private First Class Lemon is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Leonard David Hallum, age 10, from Putnam County Cookeville, Tennessee .
Parents: Hattie F. Hallum and preceded in death by John Hallum
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Saturday, June 9, 1951
Death details: Members of the U.S. 34th Infantry Regiment were among the first U.S. ground troops to arrive in South Korea following the North Korean Peoples Army (NKPA) invasion on June 25, 1950. The 34th, which had been on garrison duty in Japan, was undermanned and under-equipped and had little field experience. It’s mission was to delay the NKPA’s surge to the south as long as possible so that reinforcements could arrive. On July 6 the NKPA attacked the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 34th Infantry north of the town of Chonan, South Korea. The U.S. troops withdrew slowly back to Chonan, and established defensive lines there. Private First Class Leonard David Hallum entered the U.S. Army from Tennessee and served with K Company, 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces near Chonan, South Korea, on July 7, 1950, and was a part of the forced “Tiger March” to the Apex prisoner of war camps near the Yalu River. Repatriated American prisoners of war later reported that PFC Hallum died at a prison camp in Andong, North Korea, on or before June 9, 1951. His remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Private First Class Hallum 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, Nashville Banner (1953)