Port ARthur Texas

Maddox, Anthony R.
Army Specialist

Anthony R. Maddox, age 22, from Port Arthur, Texas, Jefferson county.

Parents: Glenda Key and stepfather Ronald Key

Service era: Afghanistan
Schools: Nederland High graduate
Military history: 10th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York. Joined Army in 2011.

Date of death: Monday, July 22, 2013
Death details: Died from a non-combat related incident (fuel explosion) that occurrred in Andar, Afghanistan.

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

Paul, Hamilton Jr.
Army Staff sergeant

Hamilton Jr. Paul, age 21, from Port Arthur, Texas, Jefferson county.

Spouse: Corine Paul

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Saturday, August 29, 1970

Source: National Archives, Fort Worth Star Telegram (1970)

Ray, Ronald Earl
Army Staff sergeant

Ronald Earl Ray, age 22, from Port Arthur, Texas, Jefferson county.

Service era: Vietnam

Death details: On the afternoon of November 13, 1969, a six-man reconnaissance team comprising two Americans and four local troops were on a mission in Laos when they were attacked by a numerically superior enemy force. Three of the four local team members were killed in the initial contact, and the two Americans were both hit by enemy gunfire and severely wounded. The remaining local team member survived the incident, and reported that the area was subsequently overrun by the enemy and that the Americans were both still lying on the ground wounded when he left the area. Beeper signals were received in the days following the incident, but bad weather and heavy enemy presence in the area prevented search and rescue teams from recovering the two American troops. Neither was seen again and further attempts to locate them were unsuccessful.

Staff Sergeant Ronald Earl Ray entered the U.S. Army from Texas and served in Command and Control North, 5th Special forces Group. He was one of the two Americans on this patrol, and the survivor reported that SSG Ray sustained a bullet wound to the chest, fell to the ground, and went silent. The survivor also reported that he shook SSG Ray before he left the area but received no response. Attempts to locate SSG Ray or his remains following the incident were unsuccessful.  He was promoted to Sergeant First Class after his disappearance. Today, Sergeant First Class Ray is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Date of death: Thursday, November 13, 1969

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Noyola, Richard
Army Specialist 4

Richard Noyola, age 23, from Jefferson County Port Arthur, Texas .

Parents: Jose M. Noyola

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Monday, April 11, 1966
Death details: Killed in Vietnam

Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1966)

Stevens, Simon John
Army Major

Simon John Stevens from Jefferson County Port Arthur, Texas .

Spouse: Mildred I. Stevens

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Unknown
Death details: On February 5, 1951, Allied forces in Korea launched an offensive against North Korean and Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) north of Wonju. Republic of Korea units and the 38th Infantry Regiment and supporting artillery units, including the 15th and 503rd Field Artillery Battalions, and the 82nd Antiaircraft Artillery and Automatic Weapons Battalion, initially met light resistance on their drive to the north. On February 11, the CCF launched an aggressive counteroffensive that caused the Allies to withdraw back southward. However, the CCF had established a series of roadblocks on the road to the south, forcing the Allies to fight their way back to friendly lines. Major Simon John Stevens, who joined the U.S. Army from Texas, was the commander of Battery D, 82nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, 2nd Infantry. He was captured by enemy forces on February 13, 1951, during his unit’s withdrawal from Hongcheon to Hoengsong and Wonju. He was marched to the Suan Bean Camp where he died of edema and malnutrition on an unspecified date during the summer of 1951. Although he was buried near the camp his remains were not identified among those that were returned to U.S. custody after the war. Major Stevens 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, Beaumont Enterprise (1951)

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