Chadwick A Gilliam, age 29, from Mayking, Kentucky, Letcher county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Blt 2/6, 26Th Meu, Ii Marine Expeditionary Force 2Nd Bn 6Th Mar, 2Nd Mar Div)
Date of death: Saturday, January 3, 2009
Death details: Died from cardiac arrest at Camp Buehring, Kuwait
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
James Thomas Hoffman, age 41, from Whitesburg, Kentucky, Letcher county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company B 1St Engineer Battalion, Fort Riley, Ks 66442
Date of death: Tuesday, January 27, 2004
Death details: Hostile; Khalidiyah, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Bobby George Fields, age 25, from Blackey, Kentucky, Letcher county.
Parents: John R. Fields
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, September 22, 1970
Death details: Killed in action
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Donald L. Menken, age 21, from Kentucky, Letcher county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Wednesday, June 10, 1953
Death details: On February 2, 2022, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Corporal Donald Louis Menken, missing from the Korean War. Corporal Menken entered the U.S. Army from Kentucky and served with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. On June 10, 1953, his unit defended “Outpost Harry” near Surang-ni, North Korea. That night, Chinese Communist Forces bombarded Outpost Harry with artillery before attacking the American lines at the outpost directly. While the CCF succeeded in taking the trenches in front of the outpost, U.S. troops prevented them from advancing further and forced their withdrawal a few days later. CPL Menken was killed in action on June 10 while defending Outpost Harry, and his remains could not be recovered at the time of his loss. In August of 1953, a Search and Recovery team recovered two sets of remains from near Outpost Harry. While one set was identified, the other could not be identified and was buried as an unknown at the Tanggok United Nations Cemetery before being moved the the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2019, a family request prompted the disinterment of this unknown set of remains, which were accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification. Laboratory analysis and circumstantial evidence established the remains as those of CPL Menken.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
James Elbert Collins, age 25, from Democrat, Kentucky, Letcher county.
Parents: Bertha Collins
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Wednesday, November 29, 1950
Death details: On November 29, 1950, men from Company G of the U.S. 1st Marine Regiment, MP Company and Tank Company, 1st Marine Division, Company B and elements of Company D of the 31st Infantry Regiment, Headquarters Company of the X Corps, and Royal Marines from Number 41 Independent Commando Battalion were sent north from Koto-ri to open the main supply route to Hagaru-ri and resupply and reinforce Allied troops that had been surrounded near the Chosin Reservoir. The group, known as Task Force Drysdale, set out with tanks and other vehicles in the lead and rear, and initially only met light resistance from Chinese Communist Forces (CCF). As attacks increased in ferocity, the group became fragmented as the CCF managed to establish road blocks that further split the task force. Soon, the CCF blew a bridge and halted the convoy altogether. The Royal Marines and most of Company G were north of the bridge at this time and were able to continue to Hagaru-ri. Near the south end of the convoy, a destroyed truck blocked the road. The tanks and troops south of the destroyed truck fought as long as possible before ultimately returning to Koto-ri on November 30. The men between the blown bridge and the destroyed truck, however, were trapped, and subjected to several mortar barrages before CCF moved into hand-to-hand combat range. Fighting raged there until the morning of November 30, when the survivors were forced to surrender. Over 300 troops were wounded, captured, or died during the action. Sergeant James Elbert Collins entered the U.S. Army from Kentucky and served in Headquarters Company, X Corps. He went missing during Task Force Drysdale’s drive from Koto-ri to Hagaru-ri, though specific details regarding his loss are unknown. No one saw him fall, and he was never reported as a prisoner of war. Attempts to locate or identify his remains following the conflict were unsuccessful. Today, Sergeant Collins is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Louisville Courier Journal (1951)
James C. Mullins, age 21, from Kentucky, Letcher county.
Spouse: Single
Children: None
Service era: Korea
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment
Date of death: Saturday, July 22, 1950
Death details: Killed in action, South Korea
Cemetery: On September 27, 2012, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Private First Class James Curtis Mullins, missing from the Korean War.
Private First Class Mullins entered the U.S. Army from Kentucky and served in Company H, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was killed in action on July 22, 1950, as his unit’s positions were overwhelmed by enemy forces near Yugong-ni, South Korea. In 1951, U.S. Army personnel recovered the remains of several U.S. servicemen from this battle, but were not able to identify one of the sets of remains they recovered, and subsequently interned them as unknown. In 2012, using modern forensic techniques, analysts were able to successfully identify the previously unidentified remains as those of PFC Mullins.
Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Jesse James Gilliam from Mayking, Kentucky, Letcher county.
Parents: Hascue G. Gilliam
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, July 19, 1942
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor, with food and water extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves, often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Storekeeper Third Class Jesse J. Gilliam entered the U.S. Navy from Kentucky and served aboard the USS Canopus (AS-9) anchored off Mariveles in the Philippines during the Fall of Bataan. In late February, crew members from the Canopus were evacuated to Corregidor to support the 4th Marine Regiment’s defense of the island. After the American surrender, SK3 Gilliam was taken prisoner and interned at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp, where he died of dysentery on July 19, 1942. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Storekeeper Third Class Gilliam is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Marvin Pernestti from Kentucky, Letcher county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Friday, June 26, 1942
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor, with food and water extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves, often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Private Marvin Pernestti entered the U.S. Army from Kentucky and served in the 1st Platoon of the 7th Chemical Company in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of dysentery and malaria on June 26, 1942 at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. Death records maintained by other American POWs at Cabanatuan contained no report on his burial location but noted his remains were possibly cremated. Today, Private Pernestti is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency