Mecklenburg County North Carolina

Cook, Glenn Richard
Air Force Captain

Glenn Richard Cook, age 24, from Charlotte, North Carolina, Mecklenburg county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, October 21, 1969

Death details: On October 21, 1969, an O-2A Skymaster (tail number 68-10975) with two crew members conducted an aerial reconnaissance mission over the To Hop Valley in South Vietnam. The aircraft made radio contact when it was in the vicinity of (GC) BP 587 459. At that time, the pilot reported that the weather in the original target area was unsuitable and that he was heading for a different target identified earlier. However, the Skymaster was not heard from again, and never returned to base. An extensive search and rescue effort over the mission area failed to locate the missing aircraft or a crash site. The remains of the observer aboard the aircraft were eventually recovered and identified, but the other crew member remains unaccounted for.

First Lieutenant Glenn Richard Cook, who entered the U.S. Air Force from North Carolina, served with the 21st Tactical Support Squadron and was the pilot of this Skymaster at the time of its loss. His body was not recovered. Following the incident, the Air Force promoted 1st Lt Cook to the rank of Captain (Capt). Today, Captain Cook is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Keeter, Donald Larry
Army Specialist 4

Donald Larry Keeter, age 23, from Charlotte, North Carolina, Mecklenburg county.

Service era: Vietnam
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment

Date of death: Wednesday, November 13, 1968
Death details: Killed by rocket/mortar, Plieku Province
Cemetery: Sharon Memorial Park, Charlotte

Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association

Gunthorpe, Robert J.
Army Staff sergeant

Robert J. Gunthorpe from North Carolina, Mecklenburg county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, August 22, 1944
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: Zachary Taylor National

Source: National Archives, grave marker

Black, Jack M.
Army Private

Jack M. Black from North Carolina, Mecklenburg county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, July 6, 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 and food and water supplied 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 Jack M. Black entered the U.S. Army from North Carolina and served with the 808th Military Police Company, which was stationed in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of malaria and dysentery on July 6, 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 Black is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Cemetery: Manila American Cemetery

Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Donald, Robert L.
Army Staff sergeant

Robert L. Donald from North Carolina, Mecklenburg county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Thursday, June 25, 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 and food and water supplied 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. Staff Sergeant Robert L. Donald entered the U.S. Army from North Carolina and served in the 228th Signal Operations Company in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of dysentery and jaundice on June 25, 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, Staff Sergeant Donald 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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