Jonathan Wayne Dean, age 25, from Henagar, Alabama, De Kalb county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: 561St Mp Co, 716Th Mp Bn, 101St Sust Bde, 101St Ad, Fort Campbell, Ky
Date of death: Saturday, December 20, 2008
Death details: Cob Speicher, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military TImes
Shannon D. Biddle, age 21, from Valley Head, Alabama, DeKalb county.
Parents: Stepfather Raymond Fuller
Service era: Beirut bombings
Date of death: Sunday, December 4, 1983
Death details: Among eight Marines killed and two wounded by artillery fire in BeirutÂ
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Associated Press (1983)
John Newt Jr. McClendon, age 20, from Flyffe, Alabama, DeKalb county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, June 21, 1970
Source: National Archives
Henry L. Helms, age 24, from Collbran Alabama, DeKalb county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Saturday, December 2, 1950
Death Details: Accounted for April 16, 2020. In late 1950, Helms was a member of Company D, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.
On July 27, 2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.
To identify Helms’ remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y chromosome (Y-STR), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Source: National Archives
Robert E. Gilbreath from Alabama, DeKalb county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Wednesday, March 8, 1944
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: Zachary Taylor National
Source: National Archives, grave marker
Julian C. McCord from Alabama, DeKalb county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Friday, October 29, 1943
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 Julian C. McCord joined the U.S. Army from Alabama and served with the 698th Ordnance Company in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured on Corregidor Island following the American surrender on May 6, 1942, and was shot and killed during an escape attempt from the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province on October 29, 1943. He was buried in an isolated grave in the camp cemetery; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Private McCord is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Ben Earl Weaver, age 37, from DeKalb County Henegar, Alabama .
Parents: Mollie Weaver
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, March 1, 1942
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Houston when the ship was attacked traveling from Batavia to Java.
Source: National Arvhies, USSHouston.org
Charles Luther Murdock, age 25, from Henager, Alabama, DeKalb county.
Parents: Charles W. Murdock
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)
Melvin Elijah Murdock, age 23, from Henagar, Alabama, DeKalb county.
Parents: Charles W. Murdock
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, Montgomery Advertiser 2000)
Charles W. Findley, age 26, from Fyffe, Alabama, DeKalb county.
Service era: World War I
Date of death: Friday, October 18, 1918
Death details: Died of wounds
Cemetery: Arlington National
Source: Soldiers of the Great War, findagrave.com, findagrave.com