Tag: Genesee County Michigan

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LaBarge, Donald Earl
Marines Private 1st class

Donald Earl LaBarge, age 21, from Flushing, Michigan, Genesee county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, March 26, 1953
Death details: In late March 1953, elements of the 1st Marine Division manned a string of outposts along a 33-mile section of the main line of resistance on the Korean Peninsula, near the present-day Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The 1st Marine Division’s 5th Marine Regiment was responsible for three of these outposts, named Carson, Reno, and Vegas, or collectively “the Nevada Cities Complex.” On March 26, Chinese Communist Forces attacked all three outposts. Although Carson managed to stave off the assault, Reno and Vegas, which were more lightly manned, eventually succumbed to the enemy. Over 1,000 Marines were killed, wounded, or went missing during the attack on the Nevada Cities Complex. Private First Class Donald Earl La Barge joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Michigan and was a member of C Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He went missing in action during the fighting at the Nevada Cities Complex on March 26, 1953. He was never reported to be a prisoner of war, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Private First Class La Barge is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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Bean, Henry Harrison
Army Private 1st class

Henry Harrison Bean, age 19, from Genesee County Clio, Michigan .

Parents: Muriel Thelma Bean

Service era: Korea

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. Corporal Henry Harrison Bean, who joined the U.S. Army from Michigan, served with Battery C, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action on November 30, 1950, as his unit was completely overrun by Chinese Communist Forces while making a fighting withdrawal south towards Sunchon, North Korea. No one saw him fall, and he was not reported to be a prisoner of war. The area never came under Allied control again, so his body was not recovered. After the war, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody. Corporal Bean 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, Associated Press (1954)

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Taylor, Dean Ester
Army Private 1st class

Dean Ester Taylor, age 19, from Flint, Michigan, Genesee county.

Parents: Easter G. Taylor

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 Dean Ester Taylor joined the U.S. Army from Michigan and was a member of Company M, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, while serving as a security unit for the 3rd Battalion near Unsan, Company M was hit by an enemy attack and forced to withdraw. The unit faced continued attacks during the withdrawal, and it was during this time that CPL Taylor went missing, though specific circumstances and an exact date surrounding 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, Corporal Taylor is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Lansing State Journal (1950)

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Jennings, Edmond E.
Army 1st lieutenant

Edmond E. Jennings, age 29, from Genesee County Flint, Michigan .

Parents: Frederick D. Jennings

Service era: World War II
Schools: Michigan College of Mining and Technology (1938)

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. First Lieutenant Edmond E. Jennings entered the U.S. Army from Michigan and served in Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 14th Engineers Regiment (Philippine Scout] in the Philippines during World War II. He was taken as a POW following the Japanese invasion and interned in the islands until December 1944, when he was put aboard the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate 1LT Jennings 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. First Lieutenant Jennings’ remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, First Lieutenant Jennings is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Flint Journal (1946)

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Thurston, Max W.
Army Staff Sergeant

Max W. Thurston from Michigan, Genesee county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, November 6, 1944
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: Unaccounted For

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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Ciochon, Walter C.
Army Staff Sergeant

Walter C. Ciochon from Michigan, Genesee county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, August 20, 1944
Death details: Finding of death
Cemetery: Zachary Taylor National

Source: National Archives, grave marker

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Fox, Jack J.
Marine Reserves Private

Jack J. Fox, age 23, from Flint, Michigan, Genesee county.

Parents: John G. Fox

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, November 22, 1943
Death details: On December 6, 2016, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private First Class Jack Junior Fox, missing from World War II. Private First Class Fox entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Michigan and was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action during the Battle of Tarawa on November 22, 1943, and was buried on the atoll. His remains were disinterred after the war but could not be identified, and he was reburied as an unknown in Hawaii. However, modern forensic techniques allowed for the identification of his remains.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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Olson, Everell D.
Army Staff Sergeant

Everell D. Olson from Michigan, Genesee county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, January 11, 1943
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 Everell D. Olson joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Michigan and was a member of the 17th 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 beriberi on January 11, 1943 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 Olson 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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Myers, Harold A.
Army Private

Harold A. Myers from Michigan, Genesee county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, August 11, 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 Harold A. Myers entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Michigan and served with the 3rd 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 August 11, 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 Myers 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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Riddell, Eugene Edward
Navy Seaman 1st class

Eugene Edward Riddell, age 24, from Flint, Michigan, Genesee county.

Parents: Forest Riddell

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.

Source: National Archives, UPI (1941)