Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Glenn R. Eisenhour, age 21, from Belleville, Illinois, St. Clair county.
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: East St. Louis Senior High (1964)
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment
Date of death: Monday, November 13, 1967
Death details: Hostile, died while missing in South Vietnam
Cemetery: Lake View Memorial Gardens, St. Louis
Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association
Ralph Burton Cobbs, age 48, from East St. Louis, Illinois, Saint Clair county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, June 17, 1966
Death details: On June 17, 1966, a C-130E Hercules (tail number 63-7785) carrying fourteen service members took off from Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam, en route to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. Approximately twenty minutes after take-off, the Hercules exploded for unknown reasons and crashed into the South China Sea. Nearby ships witnessed the incident and quickly arrived on the scene to assist in rescue operations, and recovered the remains of two service members. However, twelve individuals who were aboard the aircraft were lost during the incident and remain unaccounted-for. Lieutenant Commander Ralph Burton Cobbs entered the U.S. Navy from Illinois and was a member of Air Transport Squadron 7. He was a crew member aboard this Hercules when it crashed, and his remains could not be recovered following the incident. Today, Lieutenant Commander Cobbs is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Wilbur John Mueller, age 27, from East St. Louis, Illinois, Saint Clair county.
Spouse: Frances P. Mueller
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Friday, June 1, 1951
Death details: On June 1, 1951, a B-29A Superfortress (tail number 44-86327) carrying thirteen crew members took off from Yokota Air Base, Japan, as one of eleven aircraft in the first of three flights on a bombing mission against enemy railroad bridges in the Kwakson area of North Korea. While in the target area, the formation’s fighter escort began running low on fuel and departed to refuel. During the escort’s absence, this Superfortress came under attack by enemy MiG-15 fighters. When the escort fighters returned they attempted to fight off the MiGs; however, this Superfortress had already sustained severe damage. The damaged bomber attempted to fly towards the sea, but exploded and crashed northwest of Pyongyang. Prior to the crash, four parachutes were observed leaving the aircraft. The loss occurred behind enemy lines, precluding a ground search for survivors. Of the thirteen crew members, three were captured and eventually released into U.S. custody, and three bodies were found by the enemy, buried, and returned after the war. The other seven crew members remain unaccounted for. First Lieutenant Wilbur John Mueller entered the U.S. Air Force from Illinois and was a member of the 343rd Bombardment Squadron. He was the radar observer aboard this Superfortress when it crashed, and he was lost in the incident. Today, First Lieutenant Mueller is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Boston Globe (1953)
Artheria Melvin Harris, age 20, from Saint Clair County Golden Gardens, Illinois .
Parents: Wesley Harris
Service era: Korea
Schools: Lovejoy, Illinois
Date of death: Monday, January 22, 1951
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. Corporal Artheria Melvin Harris, who joined the U.S. Army from Illinois, was a member of D Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. On December 1, 1950, he was captured by the CCF during the fighting withdrawal from Kunu-ri. CPL Harris was marched to a holding camp in the Pukchin-Tarigol Valley of North Korea, where he died of starvation, exposure, and pneumonia on January 22, 1951. His remains have not been recovered, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Corporal Harris 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, Saint Louis Globe Democrat (1954)
Lavern E. Peters from Illinois, St. Clair county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Thursday, September 21, 1944
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: Zachary Taylor National
Source: National Archives, grave marker
James Elvis Matteson from Belleville, Illinois, Saint Clair county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Wednesday, November 25, 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. Corporal James Elvis Matteson joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Colorado and served with the 3rd Marine Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured on Corregidor Island following the American surrender on May 6, 1942, and died of dysentery on November 25, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Corporal Matteson is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
James A. Hurt from Illinois, Saint Clair county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, July 19, 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. Corporal James A. Hurt, who joined the U.S. Army Air Forces in Illinois, was a member of the 17th Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured following the Allied surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of dysentery and malaria on July 19, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp. He was buried in a communal grave at the camp; however, he could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Corporal Hurt is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Frank C. Fox from Saint Clair County Belleville, Illinois .
Spouse: Dora
Children: Son, 2
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 Frank C. Fox, who joined the U.S. Army from Illinois, was a member of Battery B, 503rd Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by the CCF during the fighting withdrawal from Kunu-ri on December 1. Sergeant Fox was marched to Camp 5, a prison camp on the bank of the Yalu River in Pyoktong, North Korea, where he died in early 1951. His remains have not been recovered, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Sergeant Fox 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, Belleville Newws Democrat (1953)