Los Angeles County California

Lundquist, William Edwin
Army Corporal

William Edwin Lundquist, age 21, from Los Angeles County California.

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. Sergeant William Edwin Lundquist, who joined the U.S. Army from California, was a member of D Company, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by the CCF during his unit’s fighting withdrawal from Kunu-ri on December 1. He was marched to Camp 5 in Pyoktong, North Korea, where he died of prior wounds and malnutrition in March of 1951. His remains have not been recovered, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Sergeant Lundquist is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Gantt, Joseph Enoch
Army Sergeant 1st class

Joseph Enoch Gantt from Los Angeles County Los Angeles, California .

Spouse: Clara Gantt

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Unknown
Death details: On November 26, 2013, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant First Class Joseph Enoch Gantt, missing from the Korean War. Sergeant First Class Gantt, who entered the U.S. Army from California, served with Battery C, 503rd Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. On December 1, 1950, he was captured by Chinese Communist Forces as his unit was attempting to withdraw from defensive positions near Kunu-ri, North Korea. He was taken to POW Camp 5 in Pyokdong, North Korea, where he died of malnutrition in the spring of 1951. In 1993, the North Korean government repatriated remains of U.S. service members lost during the Korean War, and SFC Gantt was eventually identified from among these remains. Sergeant First Class Gantt 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: Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Stockton Evening and Sunday Record (1953)

Roshe, Richard A.
Army Captain

Richard A. Roshe from Los Angeles County California.

Parents: Albert Walter Roshe

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Unknown
Death details: On December 13, 1944, Japanese forces in the Philippines began the transfer of 1,621 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) to Japan. The POWs were to make the journey aboard transport ships whose harsh conditions and extreme overcrowding led survivors to refer to them as “Hell Ships.” The ships also lacked markings that would distinguish them from any other military target, causing some of them to be attacked by Allied forces who could not identify them as POW transports. On December 14, 1944, Allied aircraft attacked the first ship, the Oryoku Maru, in Subic Bay in the Philippines, killing many Allied POWs who became lost in the water, sank with the ship, or were washed ashore. Survivors of the bombing were put aboard two other ships, the Enoura Maru and the Brazil Maru, to continue on to Japan. During the journey, while anchored in Takao Harbor, Formosa (present-day Taiwan), the Enoura Maru was attacked by Allied aircraft from the USS Hornet (CV-8), killing Allied POWs who were lost in the water, on board the ship, or on the nearby shore. Survivors of the Enoura Maru bombing were loaded onto the Brazil Maru, and reached Japan on January 30, 1945. As a result of these incidents, Allied POWs were lost in the Philippines, at sea between the Philippines and Taiwan, while anchored in Taiwan, at sea between Taiwan and Japan, and in Japan. The attacks on these POW transports ultimately resulted in a series of death notifications from the Japanese government through the International Red Cross (IRC), and some casualties were given up to five different dates of death at various locations during the transfer. Witness accounts from surviving POWs offer detailed information for a handful of casualties, but the specific dates of loss and/or last-known locations for many of these POWs are based on the most recent reported date of death. Captain Richard A. Roshe entered the U.S. Army from California and was a member of Company L, 31st Infantry Regiment, in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured by enemy forces during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines and was interned in the islands until December 1944, when he was put aboard the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. The Oryoku Maru was bombed on December 14, but CPT Roshe survived and was transferred to the Enoura Maru to continue the journey. When the Enoura Maru was later bombed, he was wounded but survived and was then put aboard the Brazil Maru where he later died of his wounds, on January 7, 1945, and was likely buried at sea. Captain Roshe’s remains are unaccounted-for. Today, Captain Roshe is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Los Angeles Evening Citizen News (1943)

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