Schenectady County New York

Monroe, Jeremiah J.
Army Private 1st class

Jeremiah J. Monroe, age 31, from Niskayuna, New York, Schenectady county.

Parents: Rob Monroe (preceded in death) and Dolores (Peanut) Monroe
Children: Delilah Rose, 9

Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 7th Engineer Battalion, 10th Sustainment Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, New York.

Date of death: Thursday, September 17, 2009
Death details: Died in Kandahar, Afghanistan of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times, North County Gazette, findagrave.com

Robbins, Thomas Douglas
Army Staff Sergeant

Thomas Douglas Robbins, age 27, from Schenectady, New York, Schenectady county.

Service era: Iraq
Military history: A Troop, 1St Sqd, 14Th Cavalry Regiment, (Stryker), Fort Lewis, Wa 98433

Date of death: Monday, February 9, 2004
Death details: Mosul, Iraq

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

Hovey, Vernon Fletcher III
Army 1st Lieutenant

Vernon Fletcher III Hovey, age 22, from Schenectady, New York, Schenectady county.

Parents: Vernon F. Hovey Jr.

Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Niskayuna High (1964), Northwich University (1968)
Military history: Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart

Date of death: Friday, June 5, 1970
Death details: Hostile, South Vietnam

Source: National Archives, Troy Times Record (1970)

Messier, Adelphis Joseph
Marines Reserves Private

Adelphis Joseph Messier, age 25, from Schenectady, New York, Schenectady county.

Parents: Ralph J. Messier

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. Private Adelphis J. Messier, who entered the U.S. Marine Corps from New York, served in Company A, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action on November 22, 1943, during the Battle of Tarawa and was buried in Cemetery #11, but after the war, his remains were not identified among those disinterred from the burial sites. He is still unaccounted-for. Today, Private Messier is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Relihan, Charles K.
Army Sergeant

Charles K. Relihan from New York, Schenectady county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, November 3, 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. Sergeant Charles K. Relihan entered the U.S. Army from New York and served with Company C of the 31st Infantry Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of malnutrition on November 3, 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, Sergeant Relihan is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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