Maine Maine

Lucas, Richard Fred
Army 2nd Lieutenant

Richard Fred Lucas, age 26, from Maine, Aroostook county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, July 9, 1953
Death details: On July 6, 1953, a large Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) unit attacked and overran the U.S. Army outposts on Pork Chop Hill in an attempt to seize whatever territory possible before the impending armistice agreement. After fighting for the position for four days, on July 10, the 7th Infantry Division Commander determined that the CCF disregard for casualties and desire to hold the outpost outweighed the position’s tactical value, and ordered a withdrawal that was eventually completed on July 11. The U.S. never again controlled Pork Chop Hill, preventing thorough recovery efforts for those who were killed or went missing during the fighting. Second Lieutenant Richard Fred Lucas, who joined the U.S. Army from Maine, served with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was killed on July 9 as his unit attempted to dislodge Chinese troops from the crest of Pork Chop Hill. Conditions on the battlefield prevented the immediate recovery of his body, and U.S. forces never again controlled the hill, which became part of the Demilitarized Zone. His remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Second Lieutenant Lucas is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Halliday, Roscoe Edward
Army 2nd Lieutenant

Roscoe Edward Halliday from Maine, Androscoggin county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, June 11, 1953
Death details: Late at night on June 10, 1953, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) launched an attack against an important American outpost known as “Outpost Harry,” which commanders had deemed a “major outpost…to be held at all costs.” Following hours of intense bombardment, Chinese infantry attacked the American trench lines in front of the outpost. The CCF succeeded in capturing the trenches but intense hand-to-hand combat kept the CCF from advancing farther. Attacks persisted through the next day and late into June 11. By the morning of June 12, the Chinese forces withdrew. Similar assaults continued on “Outpost Harry” through the next week. First Lieutenant Roscoe Edward Halliday Jr. entered the U.S. Army from Maine and served in Company B, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action during the CCF assault on “Outpost Harry,” though specific details regarding his loss are unknown. There is no evidence suggesting he was alive in enemy hands and his remains were not located following the battle. Today, First Lieutenant Halliday is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Randall, Elgin Vogala
Army Private

Elgin Vogala Randall from Maine, Aroostook county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Monday, November 27, 1950
Death details: On July 11, 1950, the U.S. Army’s 21st Infantry Regiment, which had arrived in Korea six days earlier, was placed in defensive positions near the town of Chochiwon, South Korea. The regiment was not at full strength and lacked artillery and anti-tank weapons. That day, they were attacked by North Korean forces and were forced to withdraw to avoid being surrounded, as well as to buy time until they could be reinforced and resupplied. Sergeant Elgin Vogala Randall, who joined the U.S. Army from Alabama, served with Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces north of Chochiwon on July 12, and forced to march to the Apex prison camps in North Korea. He died of malnutrition on an unspecified date between March and September 1951, at the camp at An-dong. His companions buried him “under the snow in a cornfield,” near the camp. It is possible that after the snow melted, villagers reburied him in a non-tillable area. His remains have not been identified among those returned to U.S. custody. Today, Sergeant Randall is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

McIntyre, Robert Henry
Army Corporal

Robert Henry McIntyre, age 24, from Maine, Piscataquis county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: During the last week of October 1950, Republic of Korea (ROK) Army forces under the control of the U.S. Eighth Army were advancing deep in North Korean territory, approaching the Yalu River on the Chinese-Korean border. Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) struck back in a surprise attack, engaging the ROK 1st and 6th Divisions near Unsan, some sixty miles north of Pyongyang. The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment in the lead, was rushed forward to reinforce the ROK units in the Unsan area. On November 1, the regiment’s 1st Battalion took up positions north of Unsan, while the 2nd Battalion moved to guard the Nammyon River valley west of town, and the 3rd Battalion was placed in reserve at the valley’s southern end. Sergeant Robert Henry McIntyre joined the U.S. Army from Maine and served with Headquarters Company of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, members of Headquarters Company were operating the Command Post of the 3rd Battalion of the 8th Cavalry Regiment, near Unsan, when the Regiment came under heavy attacks and received orders to withdraw. Sergeant McIntyre was lost during fighting that took place during this withdrawal, though circumstances surrounding his loss are unknown. He was never reported as a prisoner of war, nor was he identified among the remains returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Sergeant McIntyre is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Portland Evening Express (1951)

Salsbury, Richard G.
Army Staff Sergeant

Richard G. Salsbury from Maine, Somerset county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, August 1, 1943
Death details: On September 23, 2021, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Staff Sergeant Richard Gerald Salsbury, missing from World War II. Staff Sergeant Salsbury entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Maryland and served in the 345th Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bombardment Group. On August 1, 1943, Operation TIDAL WAVE was launched, a bombing raid against the oil refineries around Ploiești, Romania. One hundred and seventy-seven B-24 Liberators took off from Benghazi, Libya, for the raid. Fifty-one planes failed to return, including the one (serial number 42-40312) on which SSG Salsbury was a gunner. His remains were not identified following the war. Operation TIDAL WAVE, while successfully damaging the Ploiești oil refineries, cost the lives of hundreds of USAAF airmen, many of whom were interred by Romanian citizens into the Bolovan Cemetery in Ploiești. During postwar operations there, the American Graves Registration Command exhumed unknown remains that were eventually reinterred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery. In 2017, DPAA began exhuming those unknowns for comparison with the unaccounted-for airmen lost during Operation TIDAL WAVE. The laboratory analysis and the totality of the circumstantial evidence available established an association between one set of these unknown remains and SSG Salsbury.

Source: National Archives, findagrave.com

Lewis, Carroll A.
Army Private 1st Class

Carroll A. Lewis from Maine, Somerset county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Thursday, December 31, 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. Corporal Carroll A. Lewis entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Maine and served with the 3rd Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of disease on December 31, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. 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, Corporal Lewis is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Merrill, Willard D.
Army Private

Willard D. Merrill from Maine, Piscataquis county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Friday, August 28, 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 Willard D. Merrill entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Maine and served in the 2nd Observation Squadron in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of malaria on August 28, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. 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, Private Merrill is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Thurlow, Ivan W.
Army Private 1st Class

Ivan W. Thurlow, age 25, from Maine, Penobscot county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, August 17, 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 First Class Ivan W. Thurlow, who joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Maine, served with Headquarters Squadron, 27th Bombardment Group (Light). His unit was stationed in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked the islands, and he was captured in Bataan following the Allied surrender. Private Thurlow was held at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp, where he died of dysentery and malaria on August 17, 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, Private First Class Thurlow is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Leavitt, Ernest E.
Army Private 1st Class

Ernest E. Leavitt from Maine, Cumberland county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Wednesday, July 1, 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 First Class Ernest E. Leavitt entered the U.S. Army from Maine and served with the 75th Ordnance Company in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured on Corregidor Island following the American surrender on May 6, 1942, and died of diphtheria on July 1, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. 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, Private First Class Leavitt is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Larlee, Douglas L.
Army Private 1st Class

Douglas L. Larlee from Maine, Androscoggin county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, June 30, 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 First Class Douglas L. Larlee entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Maine and served with the 17th Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of malaria and dysentery on June 30, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. 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, Private First Class Larlee is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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