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)
Carl L. Munsey, age 25, from Mercer County Bluefield, West Virginia .
Parents: O. L. Munsey
Spouse: Barbara
Children: Three
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, March 30, 1966
Death details: Killed in a land mine explosion near Saigon.
Source: National Archives, UPI (1966)
Edward Larry Stewart, age 26, from Mercer County Bluefield, West Virginia .
Spouse: Eleanor
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, October 12, 1965
Death details: Killed in a mine explosion in Vietnam.
Source: National Archives, Raleigh Reigster (1965), Associated Press (1965)
Grat Geleane Myers, age 20, from Mercer County Princeton, West Virginia .
Parents: Mabel Myers
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, August 24, 1965
Death details: Killed when the transport plane he was aboard crashed in Hong Kong.
Source: National Archives, Ledger Enquirier (1965)
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