Billy Albert Thompson, age 34, from Scott County Lake, Mississippi .
Parents: John Thompson
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, April 24, 1966
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam.
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1966), UPI (1966)
Leslie Franklin Greer, age 20, from Scott County Ephesus, Mississippi .
Parents: Mattie Greer. He wrote his last letter to his mom Aug. 12, 1950: “I’m lying out on the ground writing on my pack now so I hope you can read this letter. Sorry I haven’t written sooner, but nine of us got lost from our company and just got back to them this morning about dinner time.”
Service era: Korea
Schools: Ringgold High
Date of death: Friday, September 1, 1950
Death details: In late July of 1950, reinforcements from the U.S. Army’s 2nd Infantry Division arrived in Pusan, South Korea, and within hours of their arrival were already being moved to the front lines along the Pusan Perimeter to help repel the invading North Korean People’s Army (NKPA). Troops were positioned along the eastern bank of the Naktong River, which was shallow enough to be crossed on foot in several places. On August 31, members of the 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, were defending the eastern shore of the Naktong, near the town of Yongsan, when at nightfall the NKPA advanced over the Naktong and began an offensive against American positions along the river. Heavy fighting broke out, and many of the 9th Infantry Regiment’s positions were overrun. Corporal Leslie Franklin Greer, who joined the U.S. Army from Mississippi, was a member of the Headquarters Company of the 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. His unit was stationed along the Naktong on the night of August 31, and he went missing at some point during the NKPA advance. Specific details regarding his loss are unknown. He was never seen in enemy custody as a prisoner of war, and attempts to locate his remains following the end of hostilities were unsuccessful. Today, Corporal Greer 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, Winston County Journal
Glen L. Hinkebein from Mississippi, Scott county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, April 29, 1944
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: Zachary Taylor National
Source: National Archives, grave marker
Lambert Lane, age 22, from Forest, Mississippi, Scott county.
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 Lambert Lane, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Mississippi, was a member of Company B, 2nd Amphibious Tractor Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, which took part in the Battle of Tarawa. On November 20 he was killed in action on the atoll. Corporal Lane was buried in Cemetery #33, Main Marine Cemetery on Tarawa, but after the war his remains were not located. Corporal Lane is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Robert L. Waldrip from Mississippi, Scott county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Monday, July 5, 1943
Death details: Finding of death
Cemetery: Zachary Taylor National
Source: National Archives, grave marker