Bryan Matthew Thomas, age 22, from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Calcasieu county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Hhc, 2D Battalion, 6Th Infantry, 2 Bct, Baumholder, Germany
Date of death: Monday, June 23, 2008
Death details: Hostile; Balad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Chase Austin Edwards, age 19, from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Calcasieu county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Wpns Co, 3Dbn, 8Thmar, (2-28 Bct, I Mef Fwd), 2Dmar Div, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Date of death: Thursday, April 6, 2006
Death details: Hostile; Ar Ramadi, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Wilfred Davyrussell Bellard, age 20, from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Calcasieu county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Battery C 1St Battalion 41St Field Artillery, Fort Stewart, Georgia
Date of death: Friday, April 4, 2003
Death details: Hostile; , Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
David Lee Garcille, age 22, from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Calcasieu county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, August 5, 1971
Source: National Archives
John Albert B. Jr. Dillard, age 50, from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Calcasieu county.
Spouse: Betty L. Hawkins
Children: John A. B. Dillard III, Gerry, Revalee
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, May 12, 1970
Death details: Killed in a helicopter crash in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Des Moines Tribune (1970), Associated Press (1970)
Robert Jr. Foreman, age 31, from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Calcasieu county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, March 26, 1970
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Blackhorse Memorial
Winston John Smith, age 20, from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Calcasieu county.
Spouse: Charlotte (Stanbrough)
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Vidrine High (1967)
Date of death: Sunday, February 15, 1970
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Mamou Acadian Press (1970)
Jack Lee Croxdale II from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Calcasieu county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, November 19, 1967
Death details: On November 19, 1967, elements of the 503rd Infantry Regiment were participating in a search and destroy mission in South Vietnam. During the mission, the U.S. troops were attacked and surrounded by North Vietnamese forces, and suffered a number of casualties. Many of the wounded men were taken to the command post set up by Company C of the 503rd Infantry. As the fighting continued, an enemy bomb hit the command post, resulting in additional casualties. Three soldiers from Company C were among them, and a search of the command post’s rubble the following day was unable to recover their remains. They were presumed to have died in the command post, either from their wounds or in the explosion when it was hit.
Specialist 4 Jack Lee Croxdale II entered the U.S. Army from Louisiana and was a radio operator with Company C, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade. He was last seen wounded in the Company C command post area before the explosion occurred and went missing following the blast. Search efforts have not recovered his remains. Today, Specialist 4 Croxdale is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Clay Odell Adams, age 20, from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Calcasieu 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. Corporal Clay Odell Adams, who entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Louisiana, served with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division at the time of the Battle of Tarawa. On November 20, he was killed in action against Japanese forces on the atoll. His remains have not been recovered. Today, Corporal Adams is memorialized in the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial.
Source: National Archives American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Claude Duran Jr. Arnold, age 18, from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Calcasieu county.
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, The Town Talk (2001)