Paul W. Doverspike, age 22, from Pennsylvania, Erie county.
Service era: Korea
Military history: Company B, 9th Infantry Regiment
Date of death: Monday, September 24, 1951
Death details: Killed in action.
Cemetery: Reynoldsville, Jefferson County
Source: National Archives, grave marker
Harold Kenneth Knight, age 20, from Erie, Pennsylvania, Erie county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Saturday, December 2, 1950
Death details: On August 27, 2019, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private First Class Harold Kenneth Knight, missing from the Korean War. Private First Class Knight entered the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania and served in Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, which was part of the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT-31) during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. PFC Knight went missing on December 2, 1950, during RCT-31’s withdrawal down the east side of the reservoir toward the town of Haguru-ri. PFC Knight died at some time following his disappearance, but the details of his loss are unknown. In 2018, the North Korean government repatriated 55 boxes containing the remains of American service members lost during the Korean War. One box contained remains recovered from the east side of the Chosin Reservoir, which made an association with PFC Knight feasible. DPAA analysts were able to use laboratory analysis and circumstantial evidence to identify PFC Knight from among the repatriated remains.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Clarence Eugene Postletwait, age 31, from Pennsylvania, Erie county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 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 Eugene Postlethwait joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania and served in Medical Company, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, he and other members of the Medical Company were supporting 8th Cavalry Regiment elements near Unsan when they received orders to withdraw. During this moving battle, SFC Postlethwait was seriously wounded by enemy grenades and then captured. He was marched as a prisoner of war (POW) northward to a small holding camp at Sambakkol, near the Yalu River, where he spent several weeks before this group was moved to Camp 5 at Pyoktong. While in Sambakkol or en route to Camp 5, SFC Postlethwait died from the effects of prior wounds. His death was witnessed by fellow POWs and he was laid to rest just short of Camp 5 at the side of the trail. No burial information was recorded. His remains have not been recovered or returned to the U.S. since the ceasefire. Today, Sergeant First Class Postlethwait is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
William Harold Ames, age 21, from Pennsylvania, Erie county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 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. Corporal Williams H. Ames, who joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania, was a member of the Medical Company of the 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, members of the Medical Company were supporting elements of the 8th Cavalry Regiment near Unsan when they were hit by a surprise enemy attack and forced fight a delaying action while withdrawing. CPL Ames was captured during the withdrawal and marched to a prison camp. He was witnessed to have died in late December 1950, during captivity at Sambakkol, a temporary holding point en route to Camp 5 at Pyoktong. He was buried by his companions; however none of the remains recovered from North Korea have been positively associated with CPL Ames. Today, Corporal Ames is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Bernard E. Shannon, age 40, from Pennsylvania, Erie county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Friday, November 9, 1945
Death details: Finding of death
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Edward G. Dippel, age 25, from Pennsylvania, Erie county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Friday, August 25, 1944
Death details: Died days after he was wounded in action in France.
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission
Martin L. Kunik from Pennsylvania, Erie county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Thursday, July 23, 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, 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 Martin L. Kunik entered the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania and served with Company H of the 31st Infantry Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of diphtheria on July 23, 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 Kunik is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Philip S. Fromyer from Pennsylvania, Erie county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, July 18, 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 Philip S. Fromyer joined the United States Army Air Forces in Pennsylvania and served in Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, which was stationed in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of malaria and dysentery on July 18, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp. 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 Fromyer is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Olin H. Ford, age 25, from Corry, Pennsylvania, Erie county.
Service era: World War I
Date of death: Saturday, November 2, 1918
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: Pine Grove, Corry
Source: Soldiers of the Great War, findagrave.com
Charley A. Farber from Erie, Pennsylvania, Erie county.
Service era: World War I
Date of death: Tuesday, October 8, 1918
Death details: Died of wounds
Cemetery: Arlington National
Source: Soldiers of the Great War, findagrave.com, findagrave.com