Stephen Curtis Kennedy, age 35, from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Multiple county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: D Troop, 1 Squadron, 278 Acr, (Tf Liberty), Lenoir City, Tennessee
Date of death: Monday, April 4, 2005
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
James William Knight, age 20, from Rockwood, Tennessee, Roane county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, September 11, 1970
Source: National Archives
Don Manuel Oshell, age 19, from Kingsport, Tennessee, Roane county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, March 26, 1970
Source: National Archives, Knoxville News Sentinel (1970)
James Earl Cunningham, age 21, from Roane County Rockwood, Tennessee .
Parents: Earl Cunningham
Spouse: Donna Kay Cunningham
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, April 29, 1966
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, UPI (1966)
Clarence Edward Barnes, age 22, from Roane County Harriman, Tennessee .
Spouse: Minnie B. Barnes
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, April 11, 1966
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Knoxville News Sentinel (1966)
Benjamin IV Lee, age 19, from Anderson County Oak Ridge, Tennessee .
Parents: John V. Lee
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Oak Ridge High graduate
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment
Date of death: Thursday, March 17, 1966
Death details: Bronze Star citation: For heroism in connection with military operations against an armed, hostile force. Private First Class Lee distinguished himself by exceptionally various actions on 17 March 1966 while serving as a medic participating in a search and destroy operation in the vicinity of Ban Brieng, Republic of Vietnam. At approximately 1400 hours, Private First Class Lee’s unit received intense sniper fire from well-concealed positions which wounded two men. With complete disregard for his safety, Private First Class Lee braved the intense hostile fire while advancing to his stricken comrades’ position in an attempt to administer first aid. Upon reaching their position, Private First Class Lee was mortally wounded by Viet Cong small arms fire. His heroic actions inspired his comrades to redouble their efforts and overcome the Viet Cong resistance. Private First Class Lee’s aggressiveness, devotion to duty, and personal bravery were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
Cemetery: Buried in Princeton, New Jersey
Source: National Archives, Knoxville News Sentinel (1966)
Thomas Hays Mullins from Tennessee, Roane county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: On June 8, 2017, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Corporal Frederick Hays Mullins, missing from the Korean War. Corporal Mullins, who entered the U.S. Army from Tennessee, was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. In early November 1950, his unit was positioned near Unsan, North Korea, when they came under attack from Chinese Communist Forces (CCF). On November 2, he was captured and taken to POW Camp 5 in Pyokdong, North Korea, where he died of malnutrition on or around March 29, 1951. In 1993, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) repatriated the remains of U.S. service members recovered from near Pyokdong, and CPL Mullins was eventually identified from among them.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Frank Godsey from Roane County Tennessee.
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. Staff Sergeant Frank Godsey, who joined the U.S. Army from Tennessee, served with the 698th Ordnance Company (Aviation) in the Philippines and was captured by enemy forces during the Japanese invasion of the islands. He was interned in the Philippines until December 1944, when he was placed aboard the ship Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate SSG Godsey 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. SSG Godsey’s remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Staff Sergeant Godsey is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
William F. Delaney, age 24, from Tennessee, Roane county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Friday, November 24, 1944
Death details: On December 17, 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced it identified the remains of Private First Class William F. Delaney, missing from World War II. Private First Class Delaney, who joined the U.S. Army from Tennessee, and was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. On November 22, 1944, his battalion launched an attack against a large pocket of German defenders near the town of Grosshau, Germany during the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest. An enemy artillery shell struck a foxhole where PFD Delaney was taking cover and critically wounded him. He died before he could be evacuated and his body was not immediately recovered. After the war, an American Graves Registration Command search team recovered a set of remains from a nearby forest where civilians had found the body of a soldier killed by an artillery shell. These remains could not be identified and were interred as unknowns. In June of 2017, these remains were exhumed and analyzed using modern forensic tools leading to their identification as those of Private First Class Delaney.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Kindred Bernelle Johnson, age 23, from Roane County Harriman, Tennessee .
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Monday, October 11, 1943
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Wahoo when it was sunk by Japanese ships and aircraft in La Perouse Starit.
Source: National Archives, oneternalpatrol.com, Knoxville News Sentinel (1946)