Geoffrey Golden Johnson, age 28, from Lubbock, Texas, Lubbock county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Hhc, Division Special Troops Battalion, 4Th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Tx
Date of death: Sunday, October 12, 2008
Death details: Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Mark Russell Cannon, age 31, from Lubbock, Texas, Lubbock county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: 3Rd Mardiv Det
Date of death: Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Death details: Hostile; Korengal Valley, Afghanistan
Cemetery: Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church Columbarium, Lubbock
Source: Department of Defense, findagrave.com
Chris Davis, age 35, from Lubbock, Texas, Lubbock county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company D, 2D Battalion, 69Th Armor, 3 Bct, Fort Benning, Georgia
Date of death: Saturday, June 23, 2007
Death details: Hostile; Mualameen, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Jose Antonio Lanzarin, age 28, from Lubbock, Texas, Lubbock county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company B, 2D Battalion, 6Th Infantry, (I Mef), Baumholder, Germany
Date of death: Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Death details: Hostile; Ar Ramadi, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Andrew Velez, age 22, from Lubbock, Texas, Lubbock county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: 699 Ordnance Company, Maintenance Direct Support 9, Fort Irwin, Ca
Date of death: Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Death details: Sharona, Afghanistan
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Jose Alfredo Velez, age 23, from Lubbock, Texas, Lubbock county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: A Company, 2D Battalion, 7Th Cavalry, 1St Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Tx 76544
Date of death: Saturday, November 13, 2004
Death details: Hostile; Fallujah, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Israel Garza, age 25, from Lubbock, Texas, Lubbock county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: A Co. 2Nd Battalion / 5Th Cavalry Regiment (1St Cav Div), Fort Hood, Texas
Date of death: Sunday, April 4, 2004
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Corey L. Winkle, age 21, from Lubbock, Texas, Lubbock county.
Service era: Gulf War
Schools: Coronado High
Date of death: Monday, February 25, 1991
Death details: Killed in a non-combat grenade accident in the Persian Gulf region.
Cemetery: Resthaven Memoiral, Lubbock
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Gulf War Chronicles, For Worth Star Telegram (1991), findagrave.com
Samuel Blackmar Cornelius, age 20, from Lubbock, Texas, Lubbock county.
Service era: Vietnam
Spouse: Married
Children: Sammye Cornelia
Date of death: Saturday, June 16, 1973
Death details: On June 16, 1973, an F-4E Phantom II (tail number: 67-00374; call sign “Wolf 07”) conducted a forward air controller (FAC) mission over Cambodia. It was the lead aircraft in a flight of two on the mission, and was responsible for marking targets for the other aircraft. This Phantom’s pilot spotted an enemy-controlled bridge and maneuvered to mark it for the other aircraft, but while attempting this, crashed for unknown reasons. The wingman’s crew observed the crash and reported seeing no ejections and receiving no rescue beeper signals. Immediate search and rescue forces failed to locate the downed Phantom or either crew member. Due to enemy forces in the area, no ground search was conducted, and the two crew members remain unaccounted-for.
Captain Samuel Blackmar Cornelius, who entered the U.S. Air Force from Texas, served with the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing. He was the pilot of this Phantom when it crashed on June 16, 1973, and he was lost following the incident and remains unaccounted-for. While carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the U.S. Air Force promoted Capt Cornelius to the rank of Major (Maj). Today, Major Cornelius is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Selma Times Journal (1976)
Albert Melvin Rout, age 22, from Lubbock, Texas, Lubbock 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. Private Albert Melvin Rout entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Texas and served in Company G, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. He was killed in action on November 20, 1943, during the Battle of Tarawa. He was buried in Main Marine Cemetery, Cemetery #33, Grave #3, Row #2, Plot #14, but after the war his remains were not located among those disinterred from the island. Private Rout is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency