Paul Anthony Beyer, age 21, from Jamestown, North Dakota, Stutsman county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company C, 2D Battalion, 502D Infantry, 2D Bct, (4 Id), Fort Campbell, Kentucky
Date of death: Friday, June 23, 2006
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Philip Dorman Brown, age 21, from Jamestown, North Dakota, Stutsman county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: B Company, 141st Combat Engineer Battalion, Jamestown, North Dakota
Date of death: Saturday, May 8, 2004
Death details: Hostile; Balad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Herbert Lapp, age 43, from Jamestown, North Dakota, Morton county.
Spouse: Juanita
Children: Step son and daughter
Service era: Vietnam
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment
Date of death: Sunday, July 3, 1966
Death details: Bronze Star citation: For heroism in connection with military operations against a hostile force. Staff Sergeant Lapp distinguished himself by heroic actions on 3 July 1966, in the republic of Vietnam. On this date, Staff Sergeant Lapp was serving as a squad leader in the 3rd Platoon, B,1/35th Infantry. While moving with his squad to reinforce a part of his platoon already engaged, his squad was brought under intense automatic weapons fire from a dug-in company of North Vietnamese soldiers. Realizing the danger of the situation, Staff Sergeant Lapp moved aggressively against the enemy positions and received a rifle wound in the hand. Refusing aid for his wound and with complete disregard for his safety, Staff Sergeant Lapp attempted to maneuver his squad against the enemy. In this final valorous act he lost his life to enemy automatic weapons fire. This outstanding display of aggressiveness, devotion to duty, and personal bravery is in keeping with the highest traditions pf the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association
Robert C. Milks, age 27, from Steele County Jamestown, North Dakota .
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Friday, December 15, 1944
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. Second Lieutenant Robert C. Milks, who entered the U.S. Army from North Dakota, served in Company A, 31st Infantry Regiment 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 2LT Milks 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. Second Lieutenant Milks’ remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Second Lieutenant Milks is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Fargo Forum (1945)