Gregory Alexis Dodge, age 20, from Hood River, Oregon, Hood River county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, July 9, 1970
Death details: Killed in action
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Archie Carl Iii Wabschall, age 20, from Hood River, Oregon, Hood River county.
Parents: Archie Wabschall Jr.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, February 26, 1970
Death details: Non-hositle death in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Donald Lee Smith, age 21, from Oregon, Hood River 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 Donald Lee Smith, who joined the U.S. Army from Oregon, was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. By midnight on November 1, 1950, the 8th Cavalry Regiment was forced to withdraw from the Unsan area to avoid encirclement by the enemy. The 3rd Battalion, the last to withdraw and surrounded and cut off by the CCF, formed a defensive perimeter. The 3rd Battalion withstood attacks for a few days before survivors either broke out to avoid capture or surrendered. CPL Smith went missing in action during this battle. He was never reported confirmed as a prisoner of war, and he remains unaccounted-for. Today, Corporal Smith is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Herman Leland Way, age 22, from Parkdale., Oregon, Hood River county.
Parents: and Joseph Way
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: From November 20 through 23, 1943, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy conducted a large-scale amphibious assault on the Japanese-held atoll of Tarawa as part of Operation Galvanic, the Allied capture of the Gilbert Islands. Located 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, Tarawa was a crucial stepping stone in the planned U.S. offensive across the central Pacific toward Japan. The Japanese garrison on Tarawa’s main island of Betio was well-entrenched with hundreds of bunkers and gun positions behind formidable beach obstacles. The first wave of Marines approaching the shore encountered lower-than-expected tides, forcing them to leave their landing craft on the reef and wade the hundreds of yards to the beach under intense enemy fire. The heaviest number of U.S. casualties were suffered during this phase of the landing. Eventually, rising tides allowed U.S. warships to maneuver closer to shore and support the troops with effective naval gunfire. More Marines landed on the second day, launching attacks inland from the beaches and seizing the Japanese airfield on the island. However, the enemy launched vicious counterattacks and two more days of intense fighting were needed to secure Betio. The last enemy strongpoints were taken on the morning of November 23. The fighting on Betio cost the Marines nearly 3,000 casualties but enabled U.S. forces to press further across the Pacific and yielded valuable tactical lessons that reduced U.S. losses in future amphibious landings. Corporal Herman Leland Way joined the U.S. Marine Corps from California and was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, which took part in the Battle of Tarawa. On November 20, 1943, he was killed in action on the atoll and was buried in Cemetery #33; however, after the war his remains were not located, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Corporal Way is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency