Mason Erwin Ragland, age 20, from Harahan, Louisiana, Jefferson county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, April 25, 1970
Cemetery: Hope Mausoleum in New Orleans
Source: National Archives, findagrave.com
Ragland, Mason Erwin
Lannes, Sherman David Jr.
Marines Staff sergeant
Sherman David Jr. Lannes, age 32, from Metairie, Louisiana, Jefferson county.
Spouse: Gale
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, April 12, 1970
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Goldman, Sammy Wayne
Marines Lance corporal
Sammy Wayne Goldman, age 19, from Metairie, Louisiana, Jefferson county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, March 1, 1970
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Pellegrin, Oneil J. Jr.
Army Corporal
Oneil J. Jr. Pellegrin, age 21, from Gretna, Louisiana, Jefferson county.
Parents: O’Neil J. Pellegrin Sr.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, January 31, 1970
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, UPI (1970)
Scaccia, Anthony G.
Army Sergeant
Anthony G. Scaccia, age 26, from Jefferson County Louisiana.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, March 5, 1944
Death details: On July 9, 2001, the Central Identification Laboratory Hawaii (CILHI, now DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant Anthony G. Scaccia, missing from World War II. Sergeant Scaccia entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Louisiana and served in the 319th Bombardment Squadron, 90th Bombardment Group (Heavy). On March 5, 1944, he was a gunner aboard a B-24D Liberator (serial number 42-41135) nicknamed “Cold Steel” that took off from Nadzab, New Guinea, for a bombing mission over Hansa Bay, New Guinea. The bomber was not heard from after takeoff. Cold Steel crashed for unknown reasons, killing SGT Scaccia and the other nine crew members aboard. The aircraft remained missing until a group of young explorers found its wreckage in 1979 near the village of Tauta, high in the Finisterre Mountains of Papua New Guinea. The site was rediscovered and reported to CILHI in 1989. Later that year a CILHI team investigated the wreckage and recovered human remains. CILHI scientists used laboratory analysis and circumstantial evidence to identify SGT Scaccia.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Griffin, Robert J.
Marines Reserves Private
Robert J. Griffin, age 18, from Westwego, Louisiana, Jefferson county.
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. Private Robert J. Griffin entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Louisiana and served in Company B, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action on November 20, 1943 during the Battle of Tarawa. He was buried in Main Marine Cemetery, but after the war his remains were not identified among those disinterred from Tarawa. Today, Private Griffin is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Griffin, Lawrence J.
Marines Private
Lawrence J. Griffin, age 27, from Westwego, Louisiana, Jefferson county.
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, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Davis, Willie
Army Private
Willie Davis, age 26, from Jefferson County Louisiana.
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. Private First Class Willie Davis, who joined the U.S. Army from Louisiana, was a member of the Service Battery, 503rd Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was wounded and captured by enemy forces on December 1, 1950, as his unit fought through enemy roadblocks en route from Kunu-ri to Sunchon. He was marched north to Camp 5, Pyoktong, North Korea, where he died of his wounds, malnutrition, and pneumonia on an unknown date. His companions buried him just north of a camp and on a mountainside; however, his remains have not been identified among those returned to U.S. custody. Today, Private First Class Davis 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, The Town Talk (1953)