Rockingham County North Carolina

Parker, Fred R. Jr.
Navy Boiler technician 2nd class

Fred R. Jr. Parker, age 24, from Reidsville, North Carolina, Rockingham county.

Parents: Fred Parker Sr. and Leona

Service era: Gulf War
Schools: Reidsville High (1984)

Date of death: Tuesday, October 30, 1990
Death details: Died with nine other sailors aboard the USS Iwo Jima when the ship’s 850-degree steam pipe erupted.

Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Department of Defense, News & Record (2015)

Wray, Van Thomas
Army Specialist 4

Van Thomas Wray, age 21, from Stoneville, North Carolina, Rockingham county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, May 13, 1970
Death details: Killed in action in Southeast Asia

Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)

Lawson, Fred Aubrey
Army Corporal

Fred Aubrey Lawson, age 21, from Madison, North Carolina, Rockingham county.

Parents: Bessie H. Lawson

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: During the last week of October 1950, Republic of Korea (ROK) Army forces under the control of the U.S. Eighth Army were advancing deep in North Korean territory, approaching the Yalu River on the Chinese-Korean border. Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) struck back in a surprise attack, engaging the ROK 1st and 6th Divisions near Unsan, some sixty miles north of Pyongyang. The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment in the lead, was rushed forward to reinforce the ROK units in the Unsan area. On November 1, the regiment’s 1st Battalion took up positions north of Unsan, while the 2nd Battalion moved to guard the Nammyon River valley west of town, and the 3rd Battalion was placed in reserve at the valley’s southern end. Sergeant Fred Aubrey Lawson joined the U.S. Army from North Carolina and was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, Company C was near Unsan with the 1st Battalion when it was hit by a severe enemy attack and forced to withdraw. SGT Lawson went missing during the withdrawal, although the specific details regarding his loss are unknown. He was never reported as a prisoner of war, and his remains were not identified among those returned to the U.S. following the war. Today, Sergeant Lawson is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Statesville Daily Record (1950)

Hardy, David Eugene
Army Corporal

David Eugene Hardy from Rockingham County Ruffin, North Carolina .

Parents: John T. Hardy

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Unknown
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 David Eugene Hardy joined the U.S. Army from North Carolina and was a member of the Headquarters Battery, 82nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery (Automatic Weapons) Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. On December 1, 1950, he was captured by the CCF near Kunu-ri, as his unit made its fighting withdrawal toward Sunchon. SGT Hardy was marched to a prisoner of war camp in Pyoktong, North Korea, where he died in February 1951. He was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Sergeant Hardy 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, Charlotte News (1953)

Back To Top