San Miguel County New Mexico

Gutierrez, Marshall Angelo
Army Lieutenant colonel

Marshall Angelo Gutierrez, age 41, from Las Vegas, New Mexico, San Miguel county.

Service era: Iraq

Parent: Mary E. Gutierrez

Schools: West Las Vegas High (1983) and New Mexico Highlands University (1987)

Military history: Hhc, 47Th Area Support Group, Camp Doha, Kuwait

Date of death: Monday, September 4, 2006
Death details: Camp Virginia, Kuwait

Cemetery: Private ranch in San Geronimo

Source: Department of Defense, Legacy

Harris, Shane Patrick
Marines Lance corporal

Shane Patrick Harris, age 23, from Las Vegas, New Mexico, San Miguel county.

Service era: Iraq
Military history: A Co, 3D Lar Bn, (Rct-7, I Mef Fwd), 1St Mar Div, Twentynine Palms, Ca

Date of death: Sunday, September 3, 2006
Death details: Hostile; Ar Rutbah, Iraq

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

Slaughter, Orvan Samuel
Marines Gunnery sergeant

Orvan Samuel Slaughter, age 29, from Las Vegas, New Mexico, San Miguel county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, November 22, 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. First Sergeant Orvan S. Slaughter entered the U.S. Marine Corps from California and served with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. On November 22, 1943, he was killed in action against Japanese forces on Tarawa. He was buried in Main Marine Cemetery, Cemetery #33, on Tarawa, but his remains were not located in post-war searches of burial sites on the atoll. Today, First Sergeant Slaughter is memorialized in the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Vigil, Tito M.
Army Private

Tito M. Vigil, age 26, from New Mexico, San Miguel county.

Service era: World War II
Military history: 515 Coast Artillery Regiment

Date of death: Sunday, July 26, 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. Private First Class Tito M. Vigil joined the U.S. Army from New Mexico and was a member of Battery F, 515th Coast Artillery Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of dysentery and malaria on July 26, 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, Private First Class Vigil is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Armijo, Carlos A.
Army Corporal

Carlos A. Armijo, age 22, from New Mexico, San Miguel county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, July 7, 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 and food and water supplied 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 Carlos A. Armijo, who entered the U.S. Army from New Mexico, served with the 515th Coast Artillery Regiment, which was stationed in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of malaria on July 7, 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 Armijo is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery

Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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