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)
James Nelson Spangler, age 24, from Letcher County Mayking, Kentucky .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, May 19, 1966
Death details: Killed when the KC 135 jet tanker he was aboard crashed near Kadena Air Base in Okinawa.
Source: Library of Virginia, Richmond, Associated Press (1986)
Aster Watts, age 33, from Letcher County Neon, Kentucky .
Spouse: Nancy M. Watts
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, May 18, 1966
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, UPI (1966)
Emmitt Colon Adams, age 23, from Letcher County Isom, Kentucky .
Parents: Bertie Adams
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, February 20, 1966
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1966)
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
Peter Jr. Barney, age 22, from Kentucky, Letcher county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Wednesday, January 10, 1945
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: Zachary Taylor National
Source: National Archives, grave marker