Albert P. Wilcox, age 39, from Orange County California.
Service era: World War II
Military history: Enoura Maru; 60 Coast Artillery Regiment
Date of death: Tuesday, January 9, 1945
Death details: Killed in action
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Rodger Van Maidment, age 19, from Anaheim, California, Orange county.
Parents: Theresa Annis
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: From November 20 through 23, 1943, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy conducted a large-scale amphibious assault on the Japanese-held atoll of Tarawa as part of Operation Galvanic, the Allied capture of the Gilbert Islands. Located 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, Tarawa was a crucial stepping stone in the planned U.S. offensive across the central Pacific toward Japan. The Japanese garrison on Tarawa’s main island of Betio was well-entrenched with hundreds of bunkers and gun positions behind formidable beach obstacles. The first wave of Marines approaching the shore encountered lower-than-expected tides, forcing them to leave their landing craft on the reef and wade the hundreds of yards to the beach under intense enemy fire. The heaviest number of U.S. casualties were suffered during this phase of the landing. Eventually, rising tides allowed U.S. warships to maneuver closer to shore and support the troops with effective naval gunfire. More Marines landed on the second day, launching attacks inland from the beaches and seizing the Japanese airfield on the island. However, the enemy launched vicious counterattacks and two more days of intense fighting were needed to secure Betio. The last enemy strongpoints were taken on the morning of November 23. The fighting on Betio cost the Marines nearly 3,000 casualties but enabled U.S. forces to press further across the Pacific and yielded valuable tactical lessons that reduced U.S. losses in future amphibious landings. Private First Class Roger Van Maidment joined the U.S. Marine Corps from California, and served with Company A, First Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action on November 20, during the Battle of Tarawa and was buried in Eastern Division Cemetery on Tarawa. His remains could not be identified after the war. Today, Private First Class Maidment is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
John F. Minogue, age 24, from California, Orange county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, August 1, 1943
Death details: John F. Minogue, 24, killed during World War II, was accounted for Aug. 23, 2022. In the summer of 1943, Minogue was assigned to the 328th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Minogue was the co-pilot was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following the war. The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Marcus A. Engesser from California, Orange county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Wednesday, November 4, 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 First Class Marcus A. Engesser joined the U.S. Army from California and served with Company L of the 31st Infantry Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of dysentery on November 4, 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 First Class Engesser is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Malcolm L. Conner from California, Orange county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, August 22, 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, with food and water 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 Malcolm L. Conner joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from California and served with the 7th Material Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group in the Philippines during World War II. After Japanese aircraft bombed and destroyed the majority of the unit’s aircraft in a surprise attack on Clark Field on December 8, 1941, the unit was sent to the Bataan Peninsula and fought as infantry. After the Allied surrender, Private Conner was interned at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province, where he died of dysentery on August 22, 1942. 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 Conner is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Robert W. Foss, age 22, from Orange County Fullerton, California .
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, July 5, 1942
Death details: On July 5, 1942, a C-53B Skytrooper (serial number 41-20048) took off from Elmendorf Army Air Force Base, Alaska, on a transport mission to Seattle, Washington, carrying four crew members and twelve passengers. Approximately twenty-five miles northeast of Fort Randall, Cold Bay, Alaska, the aircraft crashed into a mountain on Kodiak Island in the Seward Peninsula off of northwest Alaska. All sixteen men on board died in the crash, but only the remains of six were recovered. The other ten occupants remain unaccounted for. Second Lieutenant Robert W. Foss, who joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from California, was a member of Headquarters, 11th Air Force, and was assigned to the 54th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group. He was a passenger aboard this Skytrooper when it crashed during its transport mission to Seattle. His remains were not recovered following the crash. Today, Second Lieutenant Foss is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
George W. Shafer, age 25, from California, Orange county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Wednesday, June 24, 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, with food and water 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 George W. Shafer joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from California and served with the 7th Material Squadron, 5th Air Base Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of dysentery on June 24, 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 Shafer is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
John Arnold Austin, age 36, from Orange, California, Orange county.
Spouse: John Arnold Austin
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Oklahoma. Accounted for September 4, 2018
Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial
Source: American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, The Times (1965)
Arthur Cleon Manlove, age 40, from Orange, California, Orange county.
Spouse: Married
Children: Two sons
Service era: World War II
Military history: Served in the Navy for 19 years
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Palladium Item (1941)
Filomeno Santos from Balboa, California, Orange county.
Spouse: Dorothy
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Los Angeles Times (1942)