Kane County Illinois

Gothier, Ervin Philip
Army Corporal

Ervin Philip Gothier, age 19, from Elgin, Illinois, Kane county.

Parents: Alta S. Gothier

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. Sergeant Ervin Philip Gothier joined the U.S. Army from Illinois and was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, Company L was near Unsan with the 3rd Battalion when the Battalion was hit by an enemy attack and forced to withdraw. Sergeant Gothier went missing during this incident, though specific details surrounding his loss are unknown. His remains were not recovered following the battle and he was not identified among the remains returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Sergeant Gothier is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Chicago Tribune (1950)

Thompson, Ogden Neil
Army Sergeant

Ogden Neil Thompson, age 20, from Aurora, Illinois, Kane county.

Parents: Freeda Belle Thompson

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Wednesday, November 1, 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. Sergeant First Class Ogden Neil Thompson joined the U.S. Army from Illinois and was a member of Company G of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 1, 1950, Company G was in defensive positions with the 2nd Battalion near Unsan, when it came under intense rocket, mortar, and infantry attacks, forcing it to withdraw. Sergeant First Class Thompson went missing during this action, and in a published veteran’s recollection, he was said to have been killed while evading out of the company area. He was never officially reported as a prisoner of war, and his remains have not been identified among any returned to the U.S. following the war. Today, Sergeant First Class Thompson is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Chicago Tribune (1954)

Niss, Arnold Waldemar
Navy Reserves Storekeeper 1st class

Arnold Waldemar Niss from Dundee, Illinois, Kane 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

Swartz, Arthur J.
Army Staff sergeant

Arthur J. Swartz, age 22, from Kane County Illinois.

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 Staff Sergeant Arthur J. Swartz Jr., missing from World War II. Staff Sergeant Swartz entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Illinois 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 SSG Swartz 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 SSG Swartz from among these remains.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Freier, Edward H.
Private

Edward H. Freier from West Dundee, Illinois, Kane county.

Service era: World War I

Date of death: Unknown
Death details: Died of disease
Cemetery: Dundee Township East

Source: American Battle Monuments Commission, Soldiers of the Great War, findagrave.com

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