Bradley Lee Parker, age 19, from Rachel, West Virginia, Marion county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: B Co, 1St Bn, 8Th Mar, (Rct-7, 1St Mar Div), 2D Mar Div, Camp Lejeune, Nc
Date of death: Monday, November 15, 2004
Death details: Hostile; Fallujah, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense
John Thomas II Byrd, age 23, from Fairview, West Virginia, Marion county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: B Co, 1St Bn, 3D Mar, (Rct-7, 1St Mar Div), Mcbh, Kaneohe Bay, Hi
Date of death: Saturday, October 30, 2004
Death details: Hostile; Zaidon, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Donald Anthony Slate, age 24, from Marion County Fairmont, West Virginia .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, November 29, 1971
Source: National Archives, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
John Andrew Charnoplosky, age 18, from Marion County Fairmont, West Virginia .
Parents: Dorothy Charnoplosky
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, November 15, 1971
Death details: Non-hostile death
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1971)
William Frederick McDonald from Farmington, West Virginia, Marion county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, February 18, 1970
Source: National Archives
Eugene C. Summers, age 27, from Marion County Fairmont, West Virginia .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, January 25, 1966
Death details: He was en route to join a new offensive against the Viet Cong when the transport plane slammed into a hillside in Vietnam.
Source: National Archives, UPI (1966)
Winford Dale Smith, age 20, from Marion County West Virginia.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Sunday, April 22, 1951
Death details: On February 5, 1951, Allied forces in Korea launched an offensive against North Korean and Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) north of Wonju. Republic of Korea units and the 38th Infantry Regiment and supporting artillery units, including the 15th and 503rd Field Artillery Battalions, and the 82nd Antiaircraft Artillery and Automatic Weapons Battalion, initially met light resistance on their drive to the north. On February 11, the CCF launched an aggressive counteroffensive that caused the Allies to withdraw back southward. However, the CCF had established a series of roadblocks on the road to the south, forcing the Allies to fight their way back to friendly lines. Sergeant First Class Winford Dale Smith entered the U.S. Army from West Virginia and was a member of L Company, 3rd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. On February 13, 1951, he was taken as a prisoner of war (POW) while manning a roadblock near Saemal, South Korea, during the 38th Infantry Regiment’s fighting withdrawal. After his capture, he was marched with other prisoners to holding camps in North Korea. Repatriated American POWs reported that SFC Smith died on April 22, 1951 during an Allied air raid on Suan Bean POW Camp. U.S. investigators have not been able to access the area to search for his remains, and he has not been associated with any of the remains later returned to U.S. custody. He is still unaccounted-for. Today, Sergeant First Class Smith 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: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, The Oregonian (1951)
James Charles Bowman, age 18, from Marion County West Virginia.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Tuesday, November 28, 1950
Death details: On Sept. 25, 2024, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Pfc. James Charles Bowman, missing from the Korean War. Bowman entered the U.S. Army from West Virginia and served in K Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. On Nov. 27, 1950, the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT) held a position at Pungnyri Inlet on the east side of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. That night, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) launched a massive surprise attack. The 31st RCT repelled the initial attack but, after continuing assaults over the next two days, was forced to withdraw toward Hagaru-ri. Bowman was reported missing in action on Nov. 28. In 1954, the opposing nations reached an agreement to exchange war dead known as Operation Glory. Those remains that could not be identified with the tools available at the time were interred as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. On March 8, 2021, DPAA personnel exhumed one set of remains, reportedly recovered near the Chosin Reservoir for further study. The laboratory analysis and the totality of the circumstantial evidence available established that the remains were those of Bowman.
Source: National Archives
Albert Hall Morris, age 21, from West Virginia, Marion county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Wednesday, November 1, 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. Private First Class Albert Hall Morris, who joined the U.S. Army from West Virginia, was a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. By midnight on November 1, 1950, the 8th Cavalry Regiment was forced to withdraw from Unsan to Ipsok to avoid encirclement by the enemy. The CCF had set up several road blocks on the road leaving Unsan, which the withdrawing men had to fight through to reach the assembly area in Ipsok. According to one of the surviving men of G Company, Private First Class Morris was killed in action during his company’s withdrawal. His remains could not be recovered during the battle, and he is still unaccounted for. Today, Private First Class Morris is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Hayward Jr. Hamrick, age 21, from West Virginia, Marion county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Sunday, September 3, 1950
Death details: On September 3, 1950, the 8th Cavalry Regiment and the 2nd Engineer Battalion, both elements of the 1st Cavalry Division, were holding a defensive line between Tabu-dong and Taegu at the upper end of the Naktong Perimeter. Company F of the 8th Cavalry, defending Hill 448, was attacked by elements of North Korea’s 13th Infantry Division and forced to retreat to Hill 449, defended by Company G of the 8th Cavalry. The 8th Cavalry Regiment found itself cut off from its supply train and withdrew from the area to keep from being surrounded by the enemy. Upon reaching the village of Tabu-dong, members of Companies D and E of the 8th Cavalry became involved in hut-to-hut fighting before they could retreat. Meanwhile, elements of the 2nd Engineer Battalion, which had been ordered to take and hold Hill 755, were also forced to withdraw. United States forces did not re-take this territory until September 21, 1950. Sergeant Hayward Hamrick Jr., who joined the U.S. Army from West Virginia, served with F Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He went missing on September 3, 1950, during his unit’s withdrawal from Hill 448 and was not seen again. His remains were not found when U.S. forces returned to the area on September 21, and evidence indicates he was not taken as a prisoner of war. Today, Sergeant Hamrick is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency