Delaware Delaware

Dill, Paul Nesbit
Army 1st lieutenant

Paul Nesbit Dill, age 34, from Delaware, New Castle county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Monday, February 13, 1950
Death details: On the evening of November 27, 1950, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) launched a massive attack against the U.S. and United Nations (UN) troops stationed in the Chosin Reservoir area in north-east North Korea. The resulting seventeen-day conflict became known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. At the time of the initial CCF attack, members of the U.S. Army’s 31st and 32nd Infantry Regiments were defending the area north of Sinhung-ni, on the east side of the reservoir. The defenders were overwhelmed by the numerically superior CCF, and on December 1 were forced to withdraw to friendly lines at Hagaru-ri. Many men were lost or captured during the withdraw, with survivors reaching friendly lines in Hagaru-ri on December 2 and 3. Once at Hagaru-ri, the survivors of the withdrawal manned a section of the perimeter near East Hill, a strong defensive position overlooking the town. On the night of December 3, the Chinese attacked the Hagaru-ri perimeter and overwhelmed the defenders there. Many Americans were killed or went missing during these actions. Captain Paul Nesbit Dill, who joined the U.S. Army from Delaware, was a member of M Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was wounded by enemy machine gun fire on November 29, as his unit defended the eastern side of the Chosin Reservoir. As the 31st Infantry Regiment began its fighting withdrawal to Hagaru-ri, CPT Dill, along with other wounded men, was loaded on to a truck. Enemy roadblocks prevented many vehicles from reaching Hagaru-ri, and CPT Dill went missing at some point during the fighting withdrawal. He was never reported as a prisoner of war, and he remains unaccounted for. Today, Captain Dill is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Finton, Norman W.
Army Private 1st class

Norman W. Finton from Delaware.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, December 6, 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 and food and water supplied 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 W. Finton joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Iowa and served with the 19th Air Base Squadron, 20th Air Base Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of beriberi on December 6, 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 Finton is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Dunne, James M.
Army Technician 5

James M. Dunne from Delaware, Kent county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Saturday, June 20, 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 and food and water supplied 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. Technician Fifth Grade James M. Dunne entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Connecticut and served with Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of dysentery on June 20, 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, Technician Fifth Grade Dunne is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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