Jeff Wright, age 20, from Modesto, California, Stanislaus county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Saturday, April 6, 1957
Death details: Killed in an attempted Army prison break in Tokyo. Wright was killed by a guard after scaling the third and last fence surrounding the US Army guardhouse at Camp Drake
Source: UP (1957)
George Alexander Robinson from California, Stanislaus county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Saturday, October 25, 1952
Death details: In October of 1952, elements of the U.S. Army’s 2nd Infantry Division were holding positions alongside Republic of Korea (ROK) Army forces on “White Horse Mountain” when they came under attack by Chinese Communist Forces (CCF). In order to relieve pressure on ROK forces, the 2nd Infantry Division began launching raids against CCF units to their front, probing the enemy’s defensive positions. On October 25, one such patrol was carried out by men of Company I of the 2nd Division’s 9th Infantry Regiment, with the goal of locating and engaging enemy forces in their sector. After nightfall, the patrol encountered a CCF unit and came under mortar and small arms fire. The patrol suffered casualties and was forced to break contact with the enemy and withdraw to friendly lines.
Private George Alexander Robinson, who entered the U.S. Army from California, served with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was a member of this patrol, was killed by enemy fire during the attack. Because the patrol was forced to withdraw under fire, his remains could not be recovered at the time of his loss. Further attempts to locate his remains have been unsuccessful, and he was not identified among the remains returned to the U.S. following the war. Today, Private Robinson is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
John Vernon Chitwood, age 31, from Modesto, California, Stanislaus county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Saturday, May 5, 1951
Death details: Just after midnight on May 5, 1951, a B-26C Invader (tail number 44-34405A, nicknamed “The 5th Chadwick”) using callsign Skillful 17, departed Taegu (K-2) Air Base, South Korea with a crew of four aviators. The briefed mission was a night armed reconnaissance operation targeting the enemy main supply route 3 in North Korea. While on patrol, an air control station directed Skillful 17 to target a barracks near Wonsan, North Korea. After multiple bombing and strafing runs, the pilot spotted a row of lights, which appeared to be truck moving along a road. When his tracer rounds illuminated the area, the pilot realized it was a trap. A string of blinking lights had been placed on a steep hill to look like a convoy moving down a level road, causing an aircraft, attempting to strafe the mock convoy, to fly into the ground. The pilot immediately pulled up; however, the aircraft still grazed the ground, damaging its left engine. The damaged Invader recovered and headed toward the sea, slowly losing altitude. Once over Yonghung Bay, the pilot was able to make a successful “Mayday” call before crashing a few miles off the coast of the Hodo Peninsula. The following morning, search personnel rescued Skillful 17’s observer pilot. He reported that the pilot and navigator replied to his calls after escaping from the plane, but because of the darkness and his weakened condition, the observer pilot was unable to assist them. After a brief period, he did not hear them again. All efforts to locate the remaining aviators were unsuccessful. Sergeant John Vernon Chitwood entered the U.S. Air Force from California, was assigned to the 13th Bombardment Squadron, 3rd Bombardment Wing. He was the center fire control gunner aboard this bomber when it crashed. The sole survivor had no information on SGT Chitwood’s disposition following the crash. Additionally, no returning POWs mentioned contact with Sgt Chitwood, nor was he seen at any known holding point, interrogation center, hospital, or permanent POW camp. He remains unaccounted-for. Today, Sergeant Chitwood 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
Willis L. Butler from California, Stanislaus county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: April 24, 1944
Death details: Killed in action
Source: National Archives
Neal P. Cotton from California, Stanislaus county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Monday, June 8, 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. Technician Fifth Grade Neal P. Cotton entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from California and served with Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of dysentery on June 8, 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, Technician Fifth Grade Cotton is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Raymond Ralph Camery, age 26, from Modesto, California, Stanislaus county.
Parents: Mrs. Elizabeth Gertrude Radcliff
Service era: World War II
Military history: United States Navy; Purple Heart
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941. Killed aboard the USS Oklahoma. Accounted for March 28, 2018
Cemetery: Honolulu Memorial
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Vernon Thomas Luke, age 43, from Turlock., California.
Spouse: Mrs. June Edna Luke
Service era: World War II
Date of death: December 7, 1941. Killed aboard the USS Oklahoma. Accounted for September 11, 2015
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Elmer Fox from Hughson, California, Stanislaus county.
Service era: World War I
Date of death: Thursday, October 3, 1918
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: Arlington National
Source: Soldiers of the Great War, findagrave.com