Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Barry William Godfrey, age 20, from Pelham, New Hampshire, Hillsborough county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, August 25, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile in South Vietnam
Cemetery: Gibson in Pelham
Source: National Archives, Boston Globe (1970)
Edward George Jr. Kiluk from Pelham, New Hampshire, Hillsborough county.
Parents: Edward W. Kiluk
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, July 24, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Lewiston Sun Journal I(1970)
Gerald Robert Helmich from Manchester, New Hampshire, Hillsborough county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: November 12, 1968
Death details: Major Gerald R. Helmich, who joined the U.S. Air Force from New Hampshire, served with the 6th Special Operation Squadron. On November 12, 1969, piloting an A-1H Skyraider (tail number 52-139821, call sign “Spad 2”) Major Helmich participated in a search and rescue (SAR) mission over Laos. He was ordered to lay a smoke screen in preparation for the extraction attempt. Another pilot on the SAR mission saw Maj Helmich’s Skyraider crash in the vicinity of (GC) WE 747 328. No parachute was seen, and no rescue beeper signal was detected. Several SAR efforts were conducted without success. Subsequent to the incident, and while carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the U.S. Air Force promoted Major Helmich to the rank of Colonel (Col). Today, Colonel Helmich is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Herbert Asa Hesseltine, age 19, from Grafton County New Hampshire.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Wednesday, January 31, 1951
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 Herbert Asa Hesseltine Jr., who joined the U.S. Army from New Hampshire, served with Headquarters Battery, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was taken prisoner of war during his unit’s fighting withdrawal from Kunu-ri to Sunchon, North Korea. After his capture, he was marched to a temporary holding camp in the Pukchin-Tarigol Valley where he died of malnutrition on or before January 31, 1951. His remains were not recovered at the time, and he has not been identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Sergeant Hesseltine 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
Edward Joseph Jr. Morse, age 19, from Merrimack County Loudon, New Hampshire .
Parents: Edward J. Morse
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 30, 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 Edward Joseph Morse Jr., who joined the U.S. Army from New Hampshire, served with the Headquarters, Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action on November 30, 1950, as his unit withdrew from Kunu-ri to Sunchon. No one saw him fall, and his body was not recovered after the battle. There is no evidence that he was ever held as a prisoner of war, and his remains were not returned to U.S. custody after the war. Sergeant Morse is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Concord Monitor (1951)
Robert S. Hedman from New Hampshire, Rockingham county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Tuesday, November 28, 1950
Death details: By November 24, 1950, the 25th Infantry Division had pushed far into North Korea and was just beginning to experience resistance from Chinese Communist Forces (CCF). Division commanders organized Task Force Dolvin (soon renamed Task Force Wilson) to attack along a road axis in the center of the Division sector and later to establish defensive positions north of the town of Ipsok. During the night of the 26th, the CCF attacked the Task Force and infiltrated its lines at several points, threatening but failing to seize the artillery. The Task Force began its withdrawal south the following day. Corporal Robert Shurben Hedman entered the U.S. Army from New Hampshire and served with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He went missing in action on November 28, during this attack on Task Force Wilson near Ipsok. He was not reported as a prisoner of war, and his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Corporal Hedman is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defence POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Raymond H. Gravelle, age 20 from Nashua, New Hampshire, Hillsborough county.
Service era: World War II
Parent: Horace Gravelle
Date of death: May 17, 1945
Death details: Died non-battle
Source: National Archives, Nashua Telegraph (1949)
Charles J. Browne, age 29, from Rockingham County New Hampshire.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, January 9, 1945
Death details: On December 13, 1944, Japanese forces in the Philippines began the transfer of 1,621 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) to Japan. The POWs were to make the journey aboard transport ships whose harsh conditions and extreme overcrowding led survivors to refer to them as “Hell Ships.” The ships also lacked markings that would distinguish them from any other military target, causing some of them to be attacked by Allied forces who could not identify them as POW transports. On December 14, 1944, Allied aircraft attacked the first ship, the Oryoku Maru, in Subic Bay in the Philippines, killing many Allied POWs who became lost in the water, sank with the ship, or were washed ashore. Survivors of the bombing were put aboard two other ships, the Enoura Maru and the Brazil Maru, to continue on to Japan. During the journey, while anchored in Takao Harbor, Formosa (present-day Taiwan), the Enoura Maru was attacked by Allied aircraft from the USS Hornet (CV-8), killing Allied POWs who were lost in the water, on board the ship, or on the nearby shore. Survivors of the Enoura Maru bombing were loaded onto the Brazil Maru, and reached Japan on January 30, 1945. As a result of these incidents, Allied POWs were lost in the Philippines, at sea between the Philippines and Taiwan, while anchored in Taiwan, at sea between Taiwan and Japan, and in Japan. The attacks on these POW transports ultimately resulted in a series of death notifications from the Japanese government through the International Red Cross (IRC), and some casualties were given up to five different dates of death at various locations during the transfer. Witness accounts from surviving POWs offer detailed information for a handful of casualties, but the specific dates of loss and/or last-known locations for many of these POWs are based on the most recent reported date of death. Major Charles James Browne, who joined the U.S. Army from Texas, served with the 31st Infantry Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured by enemy forces during the Japanese invasion of the islands and was interned in the Philippines until he was placed aboard the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate MAJ Browne was killed several weeks later in the attack on the Enoura Maru; however, these reports often involve information solely furnished by enemy governments, with some casualties given multiple dates of death. Future research may determine that these reports were inaccurate. MAJ Browne’s remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Major Browne is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Cemetery: Manila American Cemetery
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Harry R. Leighton, age 46, from Strafford County New Hampshire.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, January 9, 1945
Death details: On December 13, 1944, Japanese forces in the Philippines began the transfer of 1,621 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) to Japan. The POWs were to make the journey aboard transport ships whose harsh conditions and extreme overcrowding led survivors to refer to them as “Hell Ships.” The ships also lacked markings that would distinguish them from any other military target, causing some of them to be attacked by Allied forces who could not identify them as POW transports. On December 14, 1944, Allied aircraft attacked the first ship, the Oryoku Maru, in Subic Bay in the Philippines, killing many Allied POWs who became lost in the water, sank with the ship, or were washed ashore. Survivors of the bombing were put aboard two other ships, the Enoura Maru and the Brazil Maru, to continue on to Japan. During the journey, while anchored in Takao Harbor, Formosa (present-day Taiwan), the Enoura Maru was attacked by Allied aircraft from the USS Hornet (CV-8), killing Allied POWs who were lost in the water, on board the ship, or on the nearby shore. Survivors of the Enoura Maru bombing were loaded onto the Brazil Maru, and reached Japan on January 30, 1945. As a result of these incidents, Allied POWs were lost in the Philippines, at sea between the Philippines and Taiwan, while anchored in Taiwan, at sea between Taiwan and Japan, and in Japan. The attacks on these POW transports ultimately resulted in a series of death notifications from the Japanese government through the International Red Cross (IRC), and some casualties were given up to five different dates of death at various locations during the transfer. Witness accounts from surviving POWs offer detailed information for a handful of casualties, but the specific dates of loss and/or last-known locations for many of these POWs are based on the most recent reported date of death. Major Harry R. Leighton, who joined the U.S. Army from New Hampshire, served with the Veterinary Corps in the Philippines. He was captured by enemy forces during the Japanese invasion of the islands, and was interned in the Philippines until December 1944, when he was put aboard the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate MAJ Leighton was killed several weeks later in the attack on the Enoura Maru; however, these reports often involve information solely furnished by enemy governments, with some casualties given multiple dates of death. Future research may determine that these reports were inaccurate. Major Leighton’s remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Major Leighton is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Earl L. Prauman from New Hampshire, Hillsborough county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Wednesday, September 13, 1944
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: Zachary Taylor National
Source: National Archives, grave marker