Houston Texas

Parker, Clifford Autry
Army Sergeant

Clifford Autry Parker, age 26, from Harris County Houston, Texas .

Parents: Mrs. Joseph T. Perkins

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Friday, December 1, 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 First Class Clifford Autry Parker, who joined the U.S. Army from Texas, served with the Medical Detachment of the 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action on December 1, 1950, during his battalion’s withdrawal from Kunu-ri to Sunchon. Medical personnel attempted to take the wounded to Sunchon but were often forced to leave behind the bodies of the dead. No one witnessed what happened to SFC Parker. He was mentioned in one prisoner of war (POW) report, but no returned POWs from his unit remember seeing him in captivity and his remains have not been returned to U.S. custody. Sergeant First Class Parker is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Fort Worth Star Telegram 91951)

Fleener, Fred Jr.
Army Private 1st class

Fred Jr. Fleener, age 19, from Harris County Houston, Texas .

Parents: Mary Fleener

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 Fred Fleener Jr., who joined the U.S. Army from Texas, was a member of H Company of the 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. On November 29, the 38th Infantry Regiment was ordered to defend the area east of Kunu-ri, to cover the start of the 2nd Division’s retreat. The CCF attacked as the 38th Infantry consolidated their defenses, forcing the defenders to fight their way back to Kunu-ri before joining the withdrawal to Sunchon. A series of moving battles ensued, and CPL Fleener went missing at some point during the fighting. He was never reported as a prisoner of war after the withdrawal to Sunchon. Corporal Fleener’s remains have not been recovered, and he has not been associated with any remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Corporal Fleener 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, Lubbock Evening Journal (1951)

Bart, Davey Harvey
Army Private 1st class

Davey Harvey Bart from Houston, Texas, Harris county.

Parents: Standley L. Bart

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: On February 24, 2016, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Corporal Davey Harvey Bart, missing from the Korean War. Corporal Bart joined the U.S. Army from Texas and was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On the night of November 1-2, 1951, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) attacked U.S. and Republic of Korea forces near Unsan, North Korea, forcing a withdrawal to the south. CPL Bart was captured by enemy forces during the fighting withdrawal, and he died in captivity in March 1951. His remains were not immediately returned following the end of hostilities. In December 1993, the North Korean government repatriated a set of unidentified remains they had reportedly recovered from a prison camp in Pyoktong. In 2016, forensic analysis enabled CPL Bart to be identified from among these returned remains.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Fort Worth Star Telegram (1953)

Gomez, Ruben James
Army Private 1st class

Ruben James Gomez, age 29, from Houston, Texas, Harris 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 Ruben James Gomez joined the U.S. Army from Texas and was a member of Company A of the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 1, 1950, Company A came under intense attack with the rest of 1st Battalion near Unsan and was forced to withdraw. Corporal Gomez was reported missing during the withdrawal, though specific details regarding 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 Gomez is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Fort Worth Star Telegram (1950)

Parker, Robert Elden
Navy Boatswain’s mate 2nd class

Robert Elden Parker from Houston, Texas, Taylor county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, December 18, 1944
Death details: He was aboard the destroyer USS Hull as it operated as part of the Fast Carrier Strike Force in the Philippine Sea. On December 17, 1944, the Hull was participating in refueling operations when the ships of its fueling group were engulfed by Typhoon Cobra. The Hull lost its ability to steer amid the enormous waves and began taking on water. The Hull eventually took on too much water to stay afloat and rolled and sank shortly before noon, on December 18. Sixty-two crew members were rescued, but a little more than two-hundred crew members were lost in the sinking.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Hoffman, John W. Jr.
Marines Reserves Private

John W. Jr. Hoffman, age 21, from Houston, Texas, Harris county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, November 23, 1943
Death details: On April 9, 2020, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private First Class John W. Hoffman, missing from World War II. Private First Class Hoffman entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Texas and was a member of Company L, 3rd Marine Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. His unit took part in the large scale amphibious assault on the Japanese=held Tarawa Atoll in November of 1943. On November 23, 1943, PFC Hoffman was killed in action on Tarawa’s Betio Island. The exact circumstances of PFC Hoffman’s loss were not known. He was buried in a Marine Cemetery on Betio; however, post war investigations on the island failed to locate his remains. In 2019, History Flight, inc., discovered Row D, a previously lost section of a Marine cemetery on Betio. The remains recovered from Row D were sent to the DPAA laboratory for identification. PFC Hoffman was among these remains, and laboratory analysis led to his successful identification.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Allen, William Lewis
Navy Reserves Storekeeper 2nd class

William Lewis Allen, age 45, from Harris County Houston, Texas .

Spouse: Married

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.
Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial

Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Fort Worth Star Telegram (1946)

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