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Lucas, Billy Ray
Army Sergeant

Billy Ray Lucas, age 20, from Maysville, Kentucky, Mason county.

Parents: Charles Andrew Lucas (preceded in death) and Margaret Lucas

Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Rectorville and Orangeburg schools

Date of death: Tuesday, May 19, 1970
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam

Source: National Archives, Cincinnati Enquirer (1970)

McCabe, John Edward
Army Private 1st class

John Edward McCabe, age 22, from Kentucky, Mason county.

Parents: James McCabe

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. Private First Class John Edward McCabe joined the U.S. Army from Kentucky and was a member of Company M, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, Company M was serving as a security unit supporting 8th Cavalry Regiment elements near Unsan when it was hit by an enemy attack and forced to withdraw. Private First Class McCabe was taken as a prisoner of war (POW) at some point during the withdrawal. Repatriated POWs reported that PFC McCabe died on November 13, 1950; his remains were not identified among those returned to the U.S. following the war. Today, Private First Class McCabe is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Kentucky Post (1950)

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