Michael Nunnally. Jr. Manns, age 23, from Fredericksburg, Virginia, Frederick county.
Service era: Gulf War
Date of death: Tuesday, October 30, 1990
Death details: Died with nine other sailors aboard the USS Iwo Jima when the ship’s 850-degree steam pipe erupted.
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, The Gulf War Chronicles, Newsweek; Library of Virginia, Richmond
Dallas Alan Driver, age 21, from Stephens City, Virginia, Frederick county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, October 9, 1969
Death details: On October 9, 1969, a UH-1D Iroquois (tail number 63-8826) with nine men aboard was taking off after a troop extraction when its rotor blades struck some trees along the Dong Na River bank. In an attempt to regain altitude and airspeed, the pilot headed over the river, but the helicopter soon struck the water and sank within seconds. Other aircraft in the area surveyed the crash site and observed personnel and debris in the water, but they were soon swept under by the swift current. Only two men were able to survive the crash and swim to shore to be rescued. The remains of two other individuals who were aboard the helicopter were eventually recovered and identified, but the remaining five men are still unaccounted for. Specialist 4 Dallas Alan Driver entered the U.S. Army from Virginia and served in Company A, 5th Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 199th Light Infantry Brigade. He was a passenger on board this helicopter at the time of its crash and could not be located following the incident. Attempts to recover his remains were unsuccessful. The Army promoted Specialist 4 Driver to the rank of sergeant after the incident. Today, Sergeant Driver is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Allison L. Hartman from Frederick County Virginia.
Service era: World War II
Schools: Handley High graduate, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
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. Captain Allison L. Hartman joined the U.S. Army from Virginia and was a member of the 14th Engineer Regiment (Philippine Scouts) stationed 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 CPT Hartman 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. Captain Hartman’s remains were not located or identified after the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Captain 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, Associated Press (1945)
Benjamin T. Potts, age 21, from Virginia, Frederick county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, December 12, 1944
Death details: Killed in action
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency