Tag: Smith County Texas

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Bell, Russell R.
Army 1st sergeant

Russell R. Bell, age 37, from Tyler, Texas, Smith county.

Parents: Cynthia Holcomb and Jim Bell
Spouse: Latoya Bell
Children: Gage Bell

Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Date of death: Thursday, August 2, 2012
Death details: Died in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan of wounds suffered when they encountered an enemy improvised explosive device.

Source: Department of Defense, Lafayette Funeral Home, Military Times

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Walker, Daniel B.
Marines Lance corporal

Daniel B. Walker, age 20, from Whitehouse, Texas, Smith county.

Parents: Bruce Nolan Walker

Service era: Gulf War
Schools: Whitehouse High

Date of death: Tuesday, January 29, 1991
Death details: Killed in action. Friendly fire.

Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Gulf War Chronicles, Boston Globe, Fort Worth Star Telegram (1991)

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Foley, Tyrone Dwayne
Navy Seaman

Tyrone Dwayne Foley, age 27, from Bullard, Texas, Smith county.

Service era: Cold War

Date of death: Wednesday, April 19, 1989
Death details: Killed in accidental explosion aboard the USS Iowa just off Puerto Rico

Source: Iowa Daily Press, UPI

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Owens, Eugene Riley
Navy Fireman

Eugene Riley Owens, age 21, from Arp, Texas, Smith county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Tuesday, June 12, 1951
Death details: On June 12, 1951, the destroyer USS Walke (DD-723) was providing anti-submarine protection to carriers from Task Force 77 off the east coast of Wonsan, North Korea, when it was struck on the port side by an enemy mine or torpedo. The force of the explosion tossed many sailors into the water, and those who were injured had a difficult time staying afloat while they waited for rescue. Twenty-six sailors were killed in the explosion and forty were wounded. Although the ship’s hull was heavily damaged, after the incident the Walke was able to proceed under its own power to Sasebo, Japan, for repairs. Of the men killed in the incident, the remains of eight could not be recovered. During repairs, the remains of seven sailors were recovered from flooded parts of the ship and identified. However, two of those men later became unaccounted-for due to unknown circumstances, so the total number of unaccounted-for sailors from the Walke now stands at ten. Fireman Apprentice Eugene Riley Owens, who joined the U.S. Navy from Texas, served aboard the Walke. He was killed in the June 12 explosion after his ship struck a mine, and his body was not recovered. Today, Fireman Apprentice Owens is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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Bell, Peter Columbus
Army Sergeant

Peter Columbus Bell, age 33, from Smith County Tyler, Texas .

Parents: Mrs. Dovie Wright

Service era: Korea
Schools: Tyler High graduate
Military history: World War II veteran

Date of death: Friday, December 1, 1950
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 First Class Peter Columbus Bell, who joined the U.S. Army from Texas, served with the Headquarters Battery, 82nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action on December 1, 1950, as his unit provided direct fire support to the 2nd Infantry Division’s withdraw, though specific details regarding his loss are unknown. No one saw him fall, and he was not reported to be a prisoner of war. The area where he went missing did not return to Allied control, so no searches could be conducted for him, and his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Sergeant First Class Bell 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, Tyler Courier Times (1950)

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Murray, Talmadge L.
Army Private

Talmadge L. Murray from Texas, Smith county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, August 17, 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 Talmadge L. Murray entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Texas and served with the 21st Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of pneumonia and dysentery on August 17, 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 Murray is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: Nation Archives

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Gibson, Emmit R.
Private

Emmit R. Gibson from Smith County Flint, Texas .

Service era: World War I

Date of death: Unknown
Death details: Killed in action

Source: Soldiers of the Great War