James Mason Keller, age 20, from Rockland, Massachusetts, Plymouth county.
Parents: George S. Keller
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, May 5, 1970
Death details: Hostile, Cambodia
Cemetery: Holy Family in Rockland
Source: Boston Globe (1970), findagrave.com
Joseph William Wirth, age 20, from Hanson, Massachusetts, Plymouth county.
Parents: Joseph G. and Elizabeth M. (Doyle) Wirth
Spouse: Paula M. (Eldridge) Wirth
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, March 2, 1970
Death details: Hostile, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Boston Globe (1970)
Bruce Edward Martin, age 18, from Brockton, Massachusetts, Plymouth county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, February 22, 1970
Death details: Hostile, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives
Richard Allan Fitts from Abington, Massachusetts, Plymouth county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: November 30, 1968
Death details: On December 20, 1989, the Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii (CILHI, now DPAA) identified the remains of Staff Sergeant Richard Allan Fitts, missing from the Vietnam War.
Staff Sergeant Fitts entered the U.S. Army from Massachusetts and served with the 5th Special Forces Group. On November 30, 1968, he was a passenger aboard a CH-34 Choctaw (tail number 144653) when it was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire over Laos, and crashed and exploded in Savannakhet Province, killing SSG Fitts. The heavy enemy presence around the loss area prevented the recovery of SSG Fitts’ remains at the time. In 1989, a joint U.S./Laotian search team excavated the crash site and recovered human remains; U.S. investigators were able to identify SSG Fitts from these remains.
Source: National Archives, Evansville Courier & Press, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
William David Frawley, age 27, from Brockton, Massachusetts, Plymouth county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: March 1, 1966
Death details: On March 1, 1966, an F-4 Phantom II (bureau number 150443, call sign “Taproom 310”) carrying two crew members launched from the USS Ranger (CVA 61) for an armed reconnaissance mission along the North Vietnam coast. It was one of a flight of three aircraft, and the fighters encountered deteriorating weather. After reversing their flight course, visual contact was not established with “Taproom 310,” and the aircraft was not heard from again. The crew of the second aircraft in the flight noticed a surface to air missile (SAM) warning, but no SAMs were seen or reported as fired. Search and rescue teams found no sign of the missing “Taproom 310” or its crew.
Lieutenant William David Frawley, who joined the U.S. Navy from Massachusetts, served with Fighter Squadron 143 aboard the Ranger. He was the pilot of this Phantom when it disappeared, and his remains were not recovered.
Source: National Archives, Military Times, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Hugh Ward Jr. Ferguson, age 19, from Plymouth County Massachusetts.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Friday, December 1, 1950
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. Corporal Hugh Ward Ferguson, who joined the U.S. Army from Massachusetts, served with C Company, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action on December 1, 1950, as his unit was withdrawing from Kunu-ri to Sunchon. No one saw him fall, and his body was not recovered after the incident. Records indicate that he was never a prisoner of war and his remains are not among those that have been returned by North Korea. Corporal Ferguson is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Robert N. Forsythe from Massachusetts, Plymouth county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Sunday, November 26, 1950
Death details: On November 25, 1950, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) attacked en masse all along the U.S. Eighth Army front on both sides of the Ch’ ongch’ on River in northwestern North Korea. The 2nd Infantry Division and supporting units, vastly outnumbered, were forced to conduct fighting withdrawals to the south to prevent Chinese flanking maneuvers. Chinese troops overran some of the artillery and mortar units that were in positions along the River during the beginning of their offensive. Sergeant Robert Norman Forsythe, who joined the U.S. Army from Massachusetts, served with C Company, 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action on November 26, 1950, between Yongdam-ni and Kunu-ri as the 2nd Infantry Division was withdrawing to Sunchon. No one saw him fall, and he was not reported to be a prisoner of war. The area where he went missing remained in enemy hands for the duration of the war, so searches could not be conducted for him. After the war, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody. Today, Sergeant Forsythe is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Richard Louis Tarantino, age 18, from Plymouth County Massachusetts.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Monday, July 31, 1950
Death details: On July 26, 1950, the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, and 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, were defending a section of the Poun-Hwanggan Highway from North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) elements advancing toward Kumch’on. On July 30-31, supported by tanks, the NKPA launched heavy attacks against the American battalions. After a hard-fought delaying action, the 7th Cavalry Regiment received orders to withdraw to support other units at Kumch’on, and the 8th Cavalry Regiment provided cover as they withdrew. Soon after, the 8th Cavalry Regiment withdrew to new positions as well. Though the action was largely successful in delaying the NKPA advance, the area still fell under North Korean control and prevented the recovery of any American remains until U.S. forces retook the area in mid-September. Corporal Richard Lewis Tarantino entered the U.S. Army from Massachusetts and served in E Company of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He went missing during the fighting on July 31, 1950, and was not with the 2nd Battalion when it regrouped following its withdrawal. Though his remains were never recovered and he does not appear on any prisoner rosters, authorities believe he was taken prisoner during the action but died soon after while in captivity. Further details are unknown, and his remains were not recovered or identified following the war. Today, Corporal Tarantino is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Nelson W. Raymond, age 51, from Plymouth County Massachusetts.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, January 9, 1945
Death details: On December 13, 1944, Japanese forces in the Philippines began the transfer of 1,621 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) to Japan. The POWs were to make the journey aboard transport ships whose harsh conditions and extreme overcrowding led survivors to refer to them as “Hell Ships.” The ships also lacked markings that would distinguish them from any other military target, causing some of them to be attacked by Allied forces who could not identify them as POW transports. On December 14, 1944, Allied aircraft attacked the first ship, the Oryoku Maru, in Subic Bay in the Philippines, killing many Allied POWs who became lost in the water, sank with the ship, or were washed ashore. Survivors of the bombing were put aboard two other ships, the Enoura Maru and the Brazil Maru, to continue on to Japan. During the journey, while anchored in Takao Harbor, Formosa (present-day Taiwan), the Enoura Maru was attacked by Allied aircraft from the USS Hornet (CV-8), killing Allied POWs who were lost in the water, on board the ship, or on the nearby shore. Survivors of the Enoura Maru bombing were loaded onto the Brazil Maru, and reached Japan on January 30, 1945. As a result of these incidents, Allied POWs were lost in the Philippines, at sea between the Philippines and Taiwan, while anchored in Taiwan, at sea between Taiwan and Japan, and in Japan. The attacks on these POW transports ultimately resulted in a series of death notifications from the Japanese government through the International Red Cross (IRC), and some casualties were given up to five different dates of death at various locations during the transfer. Witness accounts from surviving POWs offer detailed information for a handful of casualties, but the specific dates of loss and/or last-known locations for many of these POWs are based on the most recent reported date of death. Lieutenant Colonel Nelson W. Raymond entered the U.S. Army from the Philippines and served with the Headquarters, Luzon Force, during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. He was captured by enemy forces and interned in the Philippines until December 1944, when he was put aboard the ship Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate LTC Raymond was killed several weeks later in the attack on the Enoura Maru; however, these reports often involve information solely furnished by enemy governments, with some casualties given multiple dates of death. Future research may determine that these reports were inaccurate. LTC Raymond’s remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Lieutenant Colonel Raymond is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
James F. Mansfield, age 19, from Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth county.
Parents: Hilda Mansfield
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: On May 6, 2016, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private First Class James F. Mansfield, missing from World War II. Private First Class Mansfield, who entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Massachusetts, was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. On November 20, 1943, was killed in action on during the U.S. assault on the Japanese-controlled Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. PFC Mansfield was buried in a cemetery on Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, but investigations of the area immediately after the war failed to locate or identify his remains. In 2015, the organization History Flight, Inc. uncovered a burial trench on Betio and recovered the remains of several U.S. Marines who fought in the battle correlating to PFC Mansfield’s loss. These remains were turned over to DPAA analysts who used modern forensic techniques to identify PFC Mansfield from among them.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency