Dewey County Oklahoma

Buttress, Owen Garvis
Army Sergeant

Owen Garvis Buttress, age 39, from Dewey County Oklahoma.

Parents: Jess Buttress

Service era: Korea
Military history: Reenlisted in the Army in 1947 after serving in World War II

Date of death: Thursday, November 30, 1950
Death details: By mid-November 1950, U.S. and Allied forces had advanced to within approximately sixty miles of the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China. On November 25, approximately 300,000 Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) “volunteers” suddenly and fiercely counterattacked after crossing the Yalu. The 2nd Infantry Division, located the farthest north of units at the Chongchon River, could not halt the CCF advance and was ordered to withdraw to defensive positions at Sunchon in the South Pyongan province of North Korea. As the division pulled back from Kunu-ri toward Sunchon, it conducted an intense rearguard action while fighting to break through well-defended roadblocks set up by CCF infiltrators. The withdrawal was not complete until December 1, and the 2nd Infantry Division suffered extremely heavy casualties in the process. Sergeant First Class Owen Garvis Buttress, who joined the U.S. Army from Oklahoma, served with Battery B, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was killed in action on November 30, 1950, as his unit withdrew under enemy fire from the hills surrounding Kunu-ri south towards the village of Sunchon, North Korea. The fast-moving and hectic conditions on the battlefield prevented the immediate recovery of his body, and the area was never again under Allied control. After the war, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody. Today, Sergeant First Class Buttress 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, Tulsa Tribune (1954)

Rogers, Ivan E.
Army 2nd lieutenant

Ivan E. Rogers, age 27, from Dewey County Oakwood, Oklahoma .

Parents: W. E. Rogers

Service era: World War II
Schools: Oakwood High 91935)

Date of death: Tuesday, January 9, 1945
Death details: On December 13, 1944, Japanese forces in the Philippines began the transfer of 1,621 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) to Japan. The POWs were to make the journey aboard transport ships whose harsh conditions and extreme overcrowding led survivors to refer to them as “Hell Ships.” The ships also lacked markings that would distinguish them from any other military target, causing some of them to be attacked by Allied forces who could not identify them as POW transports. On December 14, 1944, Allied aircraft attacked the first ship, the Oryoku Maru, in Subic Bay in the Philippines, killing many Allied POWs who became lost in the water, sank with the ship, or were washed ashore. Survivors of the bombing were put aboard two other ships, the Enoura Maru and the Brazil Maru, to continue on to Japan. During the journey, while anchored in Takao Harbor, Formosa (present-day Taiwan), the Enoura Maru was attacked by Allied aircraft from the USS Hornet (CV-8), killing Allied POWs who were lost in the water, on board the ship, or on the nearby shore. Survivors of the Enoura Maru bombing were loaded onto the Brazil Maru, and reached Japan on January 30, 1945. As a result of these incidents, Allied POWs were lost in the Philippines, at sea between the Philippines and Taiwan, while anchored in Taiwan, at sea between Taiwan and Japan, and in Japan. The attacks on these POW transports ultimately resulted in a series of death notifications from the Japanese government through the International Red Cross (IRC), and some casualties were given up to five different dates of death at various locations during the transfer. Witness accounts from surviving POWs offer detailed information for a handful of casualties, but the specific dates of loss and/or last-known locations for many of these POWs are based on the most recent reported date of death. Second Lieutenant Ivan E. Rogers, who entered the U.S. Army from Oklahoma, served in the 22nd Infantry Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was taken as a POW following the Japanese invasion and was interned in the islands until December 1944, when he was put aboard the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate 2LT died aboard the Enoura Maru prior to reaching Formosa; however, these reports often involve information solely furnished by enemy governments, with some casualties given multiple dates of death. Future research may determine that these reports were inaccurate. His remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Second Lieutenant Rogers is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Canton Record (1945)

Forsythe, Albert L.
Private

Albert L. Forsythe, age 24, from Leedy, Oklahoma, Dewey county.

Service era: World War I

Date of death: Friday, July 19, 1918
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: Aisne Marne American

Source: Soldiers of the Great War, findagrave.com

Haynes, William
Marines Platoon sergeant

William Haynes from Dewey County Leedey, Oklahoma .

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Unknown
Death details: On December 13, 1944, Japanese forces in the Philippines began the transfer of 1,621 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) to Japan. The POWs were to make the journey aboard transport ships whose harsh conditions and extreme overcrowding led survivors to refer to them as “Hell Ships.” The ships also lacked markings that would distinguish them from any other military target, causing some of them to be attacked by Allied forces who could not identify them as POW transports. On December 14, 1944, Allied aircraft attacked the first ship, the Oryoku Maru, in Subic Bay in the Philippines, killing many Allied POWs who became lost in the water, sank with the ship, or were washed ashore. Survivors of the bombing were put aboard two other ships, the Enoura Maru and the Brazil Maru, to continue on to Japan. During the journey, while anchored in Takao Harbor, Formosa (present-day Taiwan), the Enoura Maru was attacked by Allied aircraft from the USS Hornet (CV-8), killing Allied POWs who were lost in the water, on board the ship, or on the nearby shore. Survivors of the Enoura Maru bombing were loaded onto the Brazil Maru, and reached Japan on January 30, 1945. As a result of these incidents, Allied POWs were lost in the Philippines, at sea between the Philippines and Taiwan, while anchored in Taiwan, at sea between Taiwan and Japan, and in Japan. The attacks on these POW transports ultimately resulted in a series of death notifications from the Japanese government through the International Red Cross (IRC), and some casualties were given up to five different dates of death at various locations during the transfer. Witness accounts from surviving POWs offer detailed information for a handful of casualties, but the specific dates of loss and/or last-known locations for many of these POWs are based on the most recent reported date of death. Platoon Sergeant William Haynes, who entered the U.S. Marine Corps from California, served with Company B, 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, in the Philippines at the time of the Japanese invasion. He was taken prisoner by Japanese forces and interned on the Philippines until December 1944, when he was put aboard the ship Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. PlSgt Haynes was killed several weeks later in the attack on the Enoura Maru; however, these reports often involve information solely furnished by enemy governments, with some casualties given multiple dates of death. Future research may determine that these reports were inaccurate. PlSgt Haynes’s remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted for. Today, Platoon Sergeant Haynes 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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