Gregory Leroy Tull, age 20, from Pocahontas, Iowa.
Parents: Eileen Tull and Gary Tull
Service era: Iraq
Schools: Pocahontas Area High (2003)
Military history: Hhb, 2D Battalion, 194Th Field Artillery (2 Mef), Fort Dodge, Ia
Date of death: Friday, November 25, 2005
Death details: Hostile; Hit, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
William Ward Sharp, age 21, from Iowa, Pocahontas county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Monday, July 6, 1953
Death details: On July 6, 1953, a large Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) unit attacked and overran the U.S. Army outposts on Pork Chop Hill in an attempt to seize whatever territory possible before the impending armistice agreement. After fighting for the position for four days, on July 10, the 7th Infantry Division Commander determined that the CCF disregard for casualties and desire to hold the outpost outweighed the position’s tactical value, and ordered a withdrawal that was eventually completed on July 11. The U.S. never again controlled Pork Chop Hill, preventing thorough recovery efforts for those who were killed or went missing during the fighting. Private First Class William Ward Sharp, who joined the U.S. Army from Iowa, served with Company A, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He went missing in action on July 6 when Chinese troops overran his unit’s outpost on Pork Chop Hill. He was not seen to fall in battle and was never reported as a prisoner of war. Tactical conditions prevented a search for him at the time, and the area of his loss became part of the Demilitarized Zone after the ceasefire. Today, Private First Class Sharp 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 William Jr. Reimer from Havelock, Iowa, Pocahontas county.
Spouse: Lillan Mae Reimer
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, October 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. Aviation Chief Machinist’s Mate John W. Reimer Jr. entered the U.S. Navy from California and served with Patrol Squadron 102, which was stationed in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured by Japanese forces and interned at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp, where he died of malaria on October 24, 1942. Death records maintained by other American prisoners at Cabanatuan contained no report on his burial location, and he could not be identified among the remains recovered from any of the Cabanatuan burial sites after the war. Today, Aviation Chief Machinist’s Mate Reimer is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency