Timothy Paul Padgett, age 28, from Defuniak Springs, Florida.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company B, 1St Battalion, 7Th Special Forces Group (A), Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Date of death: Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Death details: Hostile; Tarin Kwot, Afghanistan
Source: Department of Defense, finda grave.com
Richard Gustave Jr. Haile, age 21, from DeFuniak Springs, Florida, Walton county.
Parents: Richard G. Haile Sr.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, May 30, 1970
Death details: Died from head wounds received a few days earlier in Cambodia
Cemetery: Pinelawn, New York
Source: National Archives, Miami Herald (1970)
Broward L. Carter, age 19, from DeFuniak Springs, Florida, Walton county.
Parents: Ida C. Carter
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: From November 20 through 23, 1943, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy conducted a large-scale amphibious assault on the Japanese-held atoll of Tarawa as part of Operation Galvanic, the Allied capture of the Gilbert Islands. Located 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, Tarawa was a crucial stepping stone in the planned U.S. offensive across the central Pacific toward Japan. The Japanese garrison on Tarawa’s main island of Betio was well-entrenched with hundreds of bunkers and gun positions behind formidable beach obstacles. The first wave of Marines approaching the shore encountered lower-than-expected tides, forcing them to leave their landing craft on the reef and wade the hundreds of yards to the beach under intense enemy fire. The heaviest number of U.S. casualties were suffered during this phase of the landing. Eventually, rising tides allowed U.S. warships to maneuver closer to shore and support the troops with effective naval gunfire. More Marines landed on the second day, launching attacks inland from the beaches and seizing the Japanese airfield on the island. However, the enemy launched vicious counterattacks and two more days of intense fighting were needed to secure Betio. The last enemy strongpoints were taken on the morning of November 23. The fighting on Betio cost the Marines nearly 3,000 casualties but enabled U.S. forces to press further across the Pacific and yielded valuable tactical lessons that reduced U.S. losses in future amphibious landings. Private Broward L. Carter, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Florida, was a member of Company M, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, which took part in the Battle of Tarawa. He was killed in action on Tarawa on November 20. Subsequent efforts to locate Private Carter’s grave were unsuccessful and his remains were not located following the war. Today, Private Carter is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency