Juston Tyler Thacker, age 21, from Bluefield, West Virginia, Mercer county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: 3D Bn, 6Th Mar, 2D Mar Div, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Date of death: Thursday, June 24, 2004
Death details: Hostile; Bari Khout, Afghanistan
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Timothy J. Dunnigan, age 21, from Mercer County Princeton, West Virginia .
Service era: Beirut bombings
Date of death: Sunday, October 23, 1983
Death details: Among more than 200 military personnel killed in the terroist bombing of Marine headquarters in Beirut.
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance
Franklin East, age 40, from McComas, West Virginia, Mercer county.
Spouse: Hildegart M. East
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, April 28, 1972
Death details: Non-hostile
Cemetery: Evergreen Memory Gardens in Columbus, Georgia
Source: National Archives, findagrave.com, Associated Press (1972)
Larry Emerson Hendrick, age 30, from Bluefield, West Virginia, Mercer county.
Parents: Fred and Madeline Hendrick
Spouse: Carol Scott Hendrick
Children: Terri
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, October 30, 1970
Death details: Drowned in a river in South Vietnam while attempting a rescue mission in a skimmer.
Cemetery: Rose Lawn Memorial Gardens
Source: National Archives, Raleigh Register (1970)
Merril Holt, age 20, from Matoaka, West Virginia, Mercer county.
Parents: Margaret A. Holt
Spouse: Arlene
Service era: Vietnam
Military history: 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
Date of death: Saturday, June 20, 1970
Death details: Killed in action
Source: National Archives, Beckley Post Herald (1970)
Edward Richard Evans, age 22, from Mercer County West Virginia.
Spouse: Married
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Sunday, April 15, 1951
Death details: By mid-November 1950, U.S. and Allied forces had advanced to within approximately sixty miles of the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China. On November 25, approximately 300,000 Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) “volunteers” suddenly and fiercely counterattacked after crossing the Yalu. The 2nd Infantry Division, located the farthest north of units at the Chongchon River, could not halt the CCF advance and was ordered to withdraw to defensive positions at Sunchon in the South Pyongan province of North Korea. As the division pulled back from Kunu-ri toward Sunchon, it conducted an intense rearguard action while fighting to break through well-defended roadblocks set up by CCF infiltrators. The withdrawal was not complete until December 1, and the 2nd Infantry Division suffered extremely heavy casualties in the process. Sergeant Edward Richard Evans, who joined the U.S. Army from West Virginia, served with Headquarters, Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces during his unit’s withdrawal from Kunu-ri to Sunchon. He was marched northward with a large group of other prisoners and died on 15 April 1951 of malnutrition soon after reaching Camp 5 at Pyoktong. His remains have not been among those returned by North Korea thus far. Sergeant Evans is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Courier Journal (1951)
Homer Browning Gilley from West Virginia, Mercer county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Saturday, December 2, 1950
Death details: On the evening of November 27, 1950, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) launched a massive attack against the U.S. and United Nations troops stationed in the Chosin Reservoir area in northeast North Korea, resulting in a seventeen-day conflict that became known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. At the time of the initial CCF attack, members the U.S. Army’s 31st and 32nd Infantry Regiments were defending the area north of Sinhung-ni, on the east side of the reservoir. The defenders were overwhelmed by the numerically superior CCF, and on December 1, were forced to withdraw to friendly lines at Hagaru-ri. Chinese roadblocks from Sinhung-ni to Hagaru-ri along with the constant enemy fire from the surrounding high ground, made the withdrawal route extremely dangerous. Eventually, the column was broken into separate segments, which the CCF attacked individually. Many men were lost or captured during the moving battle, with survivors reaching friendly lines in Hagaru-ri on December 2 and 3.
Sergeant Homer Browning Gilley, who joined the U.S. Army from West Virginia, served with Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on December 2, 1950, as his unit made a fighting withdrawal from Hagaru-ri to Hamhung. The circumstances surrounding his loss are unknown, and his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Sergeant Gilley is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
William Kelly Collins, age 21, from West Virginia, Mercer 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. Private First Class William Kelly Collins, who joined the U.S. Army from Virginia, was a member of the Headquarters Company, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. By midnight on November 1, the 8th Cavalry Regiment was forced to withdraw from the Unsan area to Ipsok to avoid encirclement by the enemy. The CCF had thoroughly infiltrated the road leaving Unsan, and they fired upon the retreating men and set up roadblocks to impede them. Private First Class Collins went missing during this battle. He was never reported as a prisoner of war, and he remains unaccounted for. Today, Private First Class Collins is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Ray Kirby Lilly from Matoaka, West Virginia, Mercer 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. Corporal Ray Kirby Lilly joined the U.S. Army from West Virginia and was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, Company L was near Unsan with the 3rd Battalion when the unit was hit by an enemy attack and forced to withdraw. Many men became trapped in the southern part of the Regiment’s perimeter, and it was during this confusing retreat that CPL Lilly was captured. He was marched to a series of temporary camps until in late January 1951, when he reached a permanent internment facility known as Camp 5, near Pyoktong, North Korea. Corporal Lilly died in February 1951 while at Camp 5 as a result of malnutrition in the company of his comrades. Today, Corporal Lilly is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Hinton Daily News (1950)
Bobby Ellis Akers from West Virginia, Mercer 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.
Corporal Bobby Ellis Akers, who joined the U.S. Army from West Virginia, was a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. Throughout the day and into the late evening on November 1, Chinese forces conducted continued mortar and heavy artillery attacks against the 8th Cavalry Regiment, including Company G, in order to infiltrate U.N. Forces’ defensive lines and move into Unsan. Corporal Akers was killed during these attacks, and tactical circumstances prevented his body from being recovered at the time. Further attempts to recover his remains have been unsuccessful. Today, Corporal Akers is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency