Jimmie Bromley from Pierce County Tacoma, Washington .
Parents: Walter David Bromley
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.
Cemetery: Honolulu Memorial
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Rudolph Paul Bielka, age 49, from Pierce County Tacoma, Washington .
Spouse: Myrtle Bielka
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Utah
Cemetery: Honolulu Memorial
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Stockton Evening and Sunday Record (1943)
Peter Anderson from Pierce County Sumner, Washington .
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Friday, October 31, 1941
Death details: Died in the sinking of the destoryer USS Reuben James
Source: New Tribune (1941), Saint Louis Post Dispatch (1941)
Leo Flynn from Tacoma, Washington, Pierce county.
Service era: World War I
Date of death: Friday, November 15, 1918
Death details: Died of disease
Cemetery: Meuse Argonne American
Source: Soldiers of the Great War, findagrave.com
Clarence W. Gentry, age 22, from Pierce County Tacoma, Washington .
Service era: World War I
Date of death: Tuesday, October 8, 1918
Death details: Killed in action
Source: Soldiers of the Great War
Edward James Filarecki, age 34, from Pierce County Tacoma, Washington .
Spouse: Married
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Unknown
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 James Filarecki, who joined the U.S. Army from New York, was a member of the Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by the enemy on November 30, as his unit was falling back through Kunu-ri. He died of malnutrition in December of 1950 at a temporary holding camp in North Korea, as he was being marched to permanent camps in Pyoktong. His remains have not been recovered, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Sergeant Filarecki is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, The Olympian (1952)
George Lee Cheatem from Pierce County Tacoma, Washington .
Spouse: Mattie Mae Cheatem
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Unknown
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 First Class George Lee Cheatem, who joined the U.S. Army from Washington, was a member of the Medical Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by the CCF during the fighting withdrawal from Kunu-ri on December 1, 1950. He was marched to Camp 5, a prison camp on the bank of the Yalu River in North Korea, where he died of pneumonia in February 1951. His remains have not been recovered, and he was not identified among the remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Sergeant First Class Cheatem is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Tri-City Herald (1951)
Alphonce Golden from Pierce County Tacoma, Washington .
Spouse: Married
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Unknown
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. Master Sergeant Alphonce Golden, who joined the U.S. Army from Louisiana, was a member of the Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by the CCF on December 1, during the fighting withdrawal from Kunu-ri. He was eventually marched to Camp 5, a prison camp on the bank of the Yalu River in Pyoktong, North Korea, where he died of illness in February of 1951. His remains have not been recovered, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Master Sergeant Golden is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, News Tribune (1951), Kitsap Sun (1951)