Jessica Marie Housby, age 23, from Rock Island, Illinois, Rock Island county.
Service era: Iraq
Parent: Deborah Bundy
School: Rock Island High (2000)
Military history: 1644Th Transportation Company, Medium Truck Cargo, Rock Falls, Il
Date of death: Wednesday, February 9, 2005
Death details: Died in Balad, Iraq after a roadside bomb detonated near the truck she was driving.
Source: Department of Defense
Stephen Richard Phillis, age 30, from Rock Island, Illinois, Rock Island county. Their last known residence was in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Parents: Richard Phillis and Diane Phillis
Spouse: None
Children: None
Service era: Gulf War
Schools: Alle-man High, Rock Island (1978), U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Spring, Colorado (1982).
Date of death: Friday, February 15, 1991
Death details: Died when his A-10 warplane was shot down over northwestern Kuwait.
Cemetery: Rock Island Memorial Park
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Gulf War Chronicles, Quad City Times
James Leonard Wood, age 23, from Rock Island, Illinois, Rock Island county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, June 14, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives
John Bryan Golz, age 24, from Rock Island, Illinois, Rock Island county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, April 22, 1970
Death details: Lieutenant Junior Grade John Bryan Golz entered the U.S. Navy from Illinois and served in Attack Squadron 172, embarked aboard the USS Shangri-La (CVS 38). On April 22, 1970, he piloted a single-seat A-4C Skyhawk (bureau number 148484, call sign “Holloway 305”) on a night strike mission against enemy targets in Laos. During the mission, his aircraft crashed in the target area near (GC) XC 79986780, close to an enemy 37mm anti-aircraft artillery position. No parachutes were observed nor rescue beepers detected following the crash, and searches of the area revealed no signs of LTJG Golz. Further attempts to locate him were unsuccessful.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Carl Timothy Bauer, age 23, from Rock Island, Illinois, Rock Island county.
Parents: Carl B. Bauer
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, April 21, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Assocaited Press (1970)
Mark Anthony Foster, age 20, from Rock Island, Illinois, Rock Island county.
Parents: Everett H. and Edith Hermanson Foster
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, February 1, 1970
Death details: Died from gunshot wounds in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Rock Island Argus (1970)
William Francis Whitemore, age 24, from Rock Island County Rock Island, Illinois .
Spouse: Married
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 30, 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. Sergeant William Francis Whitemore, who joined the U.S. Army from Illinois, served with Headquarters, Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action on November 30, 1950, as his unit was withdrawing from Kunu-ri to Sunchon. No one saw him fall, and his body was not recovered after the battle. There is no evidence that he was ever held as a prisoner of war, and his remains have not been returned to U.S. custody. Sergeant Whitemore is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Rock Island Argus (1951)
Fay Gene Teter, age 17, from Rock Island, Illinois, Rock Island county.
Parents: Bertha L. Teter
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Monday, November 22, 1943
Death details: On August 2, 2022, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private Fay Gene Teter, missing from World War II. Private Teter entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Illinois and served in A Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. From November 20 through 23, 1943, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy conducted a large-scale amphibious assault on the Japanese-held atoll of Tarawa, a crucial stepping stone in the planned U.S. offensive across the central Pacific toward Japan. After the initial landing on Betio, Tarawa’s main island, Marines launched attacks inland from the beaches and seized the island’s airfield. The enemy launched vicious counterattacks and two more days of intense fighting were needed to secure Betio. The last enemy strongpoints were taken on the morning of November 23. Pvt Teter was killed in action sometime on November 22, 1943, but the exact circumstances of his loss are unknown. His remains were reportedly recovered and buried in Row D, Cemetery 33, a temporary U.S. burial site on Betio. In 2009 the non-profit organization History Flight located a site on Betio Island later identified as Cemetery 33. Excavations at this site have continued since this date. In March 2019 History Flight located a burial trench west of Cemetery 33 identified as Row D. Remains recovered from the burial trench were turned over to the DPAA for further study. Laboratory analysis and the totality of the circumstantial evidence available established one set of these remains as those of Pvt Teter.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Paul J. Holland, age 22, from Rock Island, Illinois, Rock Island county.
Parents: Anna R. Holland
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: From November 20 through 23, 1943, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy conducted a large-scale amphibious assault on the Japanese-held atoll of Tarawa as part of Operation Galvanic, the Allied capture of the Gilbert Islands. Located 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, Tarawa was a crucial stepping stone in the planned U.S. offensive across the central Pacific toward Japan. The Japanese garrison on Tarawa’s main island of Betio was well-entrenched with hundreds of bunkers and gun positions behind formidable beach obstacles. The first wave of Marines approaching the shore encountered lower-than-expected tides, forcing them to leave their landing craft on the reef and wade the hundreds of yards to the beach under intense enemy fire. The heaviest number of U.S. casualties were suffered during this phase of the landing. Eventually, rising tides allowed U.S. warships to maneuver closer to shore and support the troops with effective naval gunfire. More Marines landed on the second day, launching attacks inland from the beaches and seizing the Japanese airfield on the island. However, the enemy launched vicious counterattacks and two more days of intense fighting were needed to secure Betio. The last enemy strongpoints were taken on the morning of November 23. The fighting on Betio cost the Marines nearly 3,000 casualties but enabled U.S. forces to press further across the Pacific and yielded valuable tactical lessons that reduced U.S. losses in future amphibious landings. Corporal Paul J. Holland, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Illinois, was a member of Company C, 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action on November 20, 1943, and was buried in Cemetery #33, Main Marine Cemetery, on Tarawa. After the war his remains were not recovered. Today, Corporal Holland is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Charles Benton Taylor, age 20, from Rock Island, Illinois, Rock Island county.
Parents: Charles Andrew Taylor
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency