Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Robbie Dean McNary, age 42, from Lewistown, Montana, Fergus county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company C, 1St Battalion, 163D Infantry, (42Nd Inf Div), Lewistown, Montana
Date of death: Thursday, March 31, 2005
Death details: Hostile; Hawija, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Ernest E. Martin from Montana, Fergus county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 10, 1945
Death details: On March 25, 2008, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Second Lieutenant Ernest E. Martin, missing from World War II. Second Lieutenant Martin, who entered the U.S. Army from Montana, was a member of Company C, 109th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division, during the Battle of Hürtgen Forest. On November 10, 1945, he was killed in action during his company’s attempt to capture the towns of Vossenack and Schmidt, Germany. His remains were not recovered at the time. In 2000, while clearing unexploded ordnance from the Hürtgen Forest, German construction workers found human remains and military artifacts in an unmarked grave and turned the findings over to U.S. officials. Analysts were able to identify 2LT Martin from these remains.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Donald H. Surber, age 20, from Montana, Fergus county.
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, 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 Donald H. Surber joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Montana 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 on April 9, 1942, 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 Surber is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Leonard R. J. Jackson from Montana, Fergus county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, October 31, 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 Leonard R. J. Jackson joined the U.S. Army from Montana and was a member of the 60th Coast Artillery Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured on Corregidor Island following the American surrender on May 6, 1942 and died of dysentery on October 31, 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 Jackson is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
John L. Burnham, age 23, from Montana, Fergus county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Monday, June 22, 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. Technician Fourth Grade John L. Burnham entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Montana and served with the 7th Material Squadron in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of diphtheria on June 22, 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 Fourth Grade Burnham is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Cemetery: Manila American Cemetery
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
William Hartman from Montana, Fergus county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, June 13, 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. Staff Sergeant William Hartman joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Montana and was a member of the 20th Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942 and died of dysentery on June 13, 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, Staff Sergeant Hartman is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency