Tag: Hidalgo County Texas

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Duarte, Donaciano
Army Private

Donaciano Duarte, age 20, from Hidalgo County Texas.

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. Private First Class Donaciano Duarte, who joined the U.S. Army from Texas, was a member of the Service Battery, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action on November 30, 1950, as his unit made a fighting withdrawal from Kunu-ri south toward Sunchon. No one saw him fall, and he was not reported to be a prisoner of war. The area where he went missing was never again under Allied control, and his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Private First Class Duarte 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

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Garcia, Roberto
Army Corporal

Roberto Garcia, age 22, from Hidalgo County Texas.

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. Sergeant Roberto Garcia entered the U.S. Army from Texas and served in B Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. On November 30, 1950, during the 2nd Division’s withdrawal to Sunchon, SGT Garcia and B Company were positioned on Hill 201 when they were attacked by advancing CCF. A counterattack from Company A drove out the Chinese forces, however, SGT Garcia went missing during the fighting. Battle conditions prevented searches for him at the time. He was never reported as a prisoner of war, and his remains were not identified among those recovered following the war. Today, Sergeant Garcia 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

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Vela, Manuel Nieves
Army Private

Manuel Nieves Vela, age 26, from Mercedes, Texas, Hidalgo county.

Parents: Nieves A. Vela

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. Private First Class Manuel Nieves Vela entered the U.S. Army from Texas and served with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 1, 1950, HHC was near Unsan with the 2nd Battalion when it came under heavy attack and received orders to withdraw. Nearly surrounded and besieged by CCF, withdrawing American units became trapped and some units dug inside foxholes or behind bunkers. It was during this chaotic fighting that PFC Vela became missing, though specific details surrounding his loss are unknown. His name has not appeared on POW records and his remains have not been accounted for since the ceasefire. Today, Private First Class Vela is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Harlingen Valley Morning Star (1950)

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Tijerina, Antonio Dejesus
Army Private 1st class

Antonio Dejesus Tijerina from San Juan, Texas, Hidalgo county.

Parents: Emillia M. Tijerina

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 Antonio DeJesus Tijerina joined the U.S. Army from Michigan and was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, Company L was in defensive positions with the 3rd Battalion near Unsan, when it was hit by an enemy attack and forced to withdraw. Corporal Tijerina went missing during the withdrawal combat, though specific details of 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 ceasefire. Today, Corporal Tijerina is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Corpus Christi Caller Times (1954)

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Salazar, Manuel
Army Private

Manuel Salazar, age 29, from Texas, Hidalgo county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Thursday, July 16, 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 Manuel Salazar entered the U.S. Army from Texas and served with Battery B of the 515th Coast Artillery Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of dysentery on July 16, 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 Salazar 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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Howard, Clarence E. Jr.
Corporal

Clarence E. Jr. Howard from Texas, Hidalgo county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, July 5, 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 Clarence E. Howard Jr. joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Texas and served with the 34th Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group in the Philippines during World War II. The 34th was stationed at Del Carmen Field on Luzon Island when the Japanese attacked U.S. military bases in the Pacific in December 1941. After the Japanese destroyed the unit’s aircraft on the ground at Del Carmen, the men of the 34th served as infantry during the Battle of Bataan. When U.S. troops in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese on April 9, 1941, they were forced on the Bataan Death March. They went first to Camp O’Donnell in Tarlac Province and from there to the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija where Staff Sergeant Howard died of diphtheria on July 5, 1942. 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 Howard 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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Sooter, James Frederick
Navy Radioman 3rd class

James Frederick Sooter, age 20, from Hidalgo County Weslaco, Texas .

Parents: J. M. Sooter

Service era: World War II
Schools: Weslaco High graduate

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

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, The Monitor (1942)

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Cantu, Jesus Roberto
Army Sergeant 1st class

Jesus Roberto Cantu from Hidalgo County Weslaco, Texas .

Parents: Robert C. Cantu

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Unknown
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. Master Sergeant Jesus Roberto Cantu, who joined the U.S. Army from Texas, was a member of B Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by the CCF during the withdrawal from the Kunu-ri area on November 30. He died of unknown causes in January of 1951 while held at the Mining Camp in North Korea. His remains have not been recovered, and he was not identified among the remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Master Sergeant Cantu 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, Fort Worth Star Telegram (1954)