Raymond Loya White, age 22, from Elwood, Indiana, Madison county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Hhc, 1St Bn, 8Th Cavalry Regiment, 1St Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Tx 76544
Date of death: Friday, November 12, 2004
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
John Wayne Held, age 31, from Elwood, Indiana, Madison County.
Service era: Vietnam
Parent: John E. Held
Spouse: Laura J. Held
Date of death: April 17, 1968
Death details: Captain John Wayne Held entered the U.S. Air Force from Indiana and served in the 604th Air Commando Squadron. On April 17, 1968, he piloted a single-seat A-37A Dragonfly (tail number 67-14518) as the lead of two aircraft on an attack mission against an enemy target near Song Be, South Vietnam. After dropping ordnance and napalm on an enemy position and then moving to another target, Capt Held’s aircraft was hit by enemy ground fire. The A-37A lost control and Capt Held ejected before the aircraft crashed north of Song Be near (GC) YU 313 213. The wingman kept Capt Held’s parachute in view until search and rescue teams arrived. The rescue crew sighted the parachute and lowered a pararescueman down to the site, but found no sign of Capt Held, and further efforts to locate him were unsuccessful. Following the incident, the Air Force posthumously promoted Capt Held to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col). Today, Lieutenant Colonel Held is Memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Indianapolis Sar (1975), findagrave.com, Elwood Call Leader (1975)
Clarence Vernon Cox, age 21, from Elwood, Indiana, Madison county.
Parents: Lydia E. Cox
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Friday, November 10, 1950
Death details: During the last week of October 1950, Republic of Korea (ROK) Army forces under the control of the U.S. Eighth Army were advancing deep in North Korean territory, approaching the Yalu River on the Chinese-Korean border. Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) struck back in a surprise attack, engaging the ROK 1st and 6th Divisions near Unsan, some sixty miles north of Pyongyang. The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment in the lead, was rushed forward to reinforce the ROK units in the Unsan area. On November 1, the regiment’s 1st Battalion took up positions north of Unsan, while the 2nd Battalion moved to guard the Nammyon River valley west of town, and the 3rd Battalion was placed in reserve at the valley’s southern end. Sergeant First Class Clarence Vernon Cox Jr., who joined the U.S. Army from Indiana, was a member of Company G of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 1, 1950, Company G was occupying defensive positions with the 2nd Battalion near Unsan when the Battalion came under intense rocket and mortar fire accompanied by infantry assaults and was forced to withdraw. Sergeant First Class Cox went missing during the withdrawal, though specific details regarding his loss are unknown. He was never reported as a prisoner of war, and his remains were not identified among those returned to the U.S. following the war. Today, Sergeant First Class Cox is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Indianapolis News (1950)
Charles Albert Jr. Duffitt from Elwood, Indiana, Madison county.
Parents: Charles A. Duffitt Sr.
Service era: World War II
Military history: 9th Marines
Date of death: Saturday, March 3, 1945
Cemetery: New Albany National
Source: National Archives, grave marker