State of New Mexico

Foster, William N.
Army Captain

William N. Foster from Luna County Deming, New Mexico .

Service era: World War II
Schools: New Mexico A&M graduate
Military history: Purple Heart

Date of death: Thursday, December 14, 1944
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. Captain William N. Foster entered the U.S. Army from New Mexico and served in the 22nd Infantry Regiment, 21st Infantry Division (Philippine Scout) in the Philippines during World War II. He was taken as a POW following the Japanese invasion and was interned in the islands until December 1944, when he was put aboard the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate CPT Foster 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. Attempts to locate or identify CPT Foster’s remains after the war were unsuccessful, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Captain Foster is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Deming Headlight (1947)

Miller, Melvin M.
Army 2nd lieutenant

Melvin M. Miller from Bernalillo County New Mexico.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Friday, February 11, 1944
Death details: Killed in action in Germany.

Source: National Archives, San Angelo Evening Standard (1945)

Bonnyman, Alexander Jr.
Marines Reserves 1st lieutenant

Alexander Jr. Bonnyman, age 33, from Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, November 22, 1943
Death details: On August 27, 2015, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of First Lieutenant Alexander J. Bonnyman Jr., missing from World War II. First Lieutenant Bonnyman entered the U.S. Marine Corps from New Mexico and served in Company F, 18th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. 1stLt Bonnyman was killed on November 22, 1943, while leading an assault on a Japanese stronghold on Betio Island during the invasion of the Tarawa Atoll. He was reportedly buried in a Division cemetery on Betio, but his body could not be found following the battle and he was reported missing. 1stLt Bonnyman was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his personal acts of exceptional valor during the close quarters fighting on Betio. In 2015, the nongovernmental organization History Flight Inc. discovered a burial site on Betio and recovered human remains. These remains were brought to the DPAA laboratory in Hawaii where analysts were able to individually identify First Lieutenant Bonnyman from among them.
Cemetery: Honolulu Memorial

Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Gutierrez, Juan F.
Army Private 1st class

Juan F. Gutierrez from New Mexico, Santa Fe county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Thursday, November 19, 1942
Death details: On February 24, 2021, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private First Class Juan F. Gutierrez, missing from World War II. Private First Class Gutierrez was a member of the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment of the U.S. Army. He served in the Philippines during the early months of WWII. After the fall of the Philippines to Japanese forces in spring of 1942, PFC Gutierrez was taken as a prisoner of war by the Japanese. He died of beriberi on November 19, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prisoner of War Camp in northern Luzon, and was buried in a common grave at the camp cemetery. In January of 1946, this common grave was exhumed for possible identification. Ten sets of remains from this grave, including those of PFC Gutierrez, could not be identified at the time, and were buried as unknown remains at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. In August 2014, the Department of Defense determined there was sufficient evidence to disinter and identify these ten unknown remains. One set of these remains were eventually identified as those of PFC Gutierrez as part of this effort.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Prince, Sam A.
Army Sergeant

Sam A. Prince from New Mexico, Curry county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, September 22, 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 Sam A. Prince entered the U.S. Army from New Mexico and served with Headquarters Company, 200th Coast Artillery Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. The 200th Coast Artillery Regiment arrived in the Philippines in September 1941, and was stationed at Fort Stotsenburg on Clark Air Base. After Japanese forces invaded the Philippines in December, the 200th was ordered to the Bataan Peninsula where they participated in the defense of Bataan. Sergeant Prince was with his unit when Allied troops in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese on April 9, 1942. He and the other surviving members of his unit were forced on the Bataan Death March and ultimately interned at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp, where he died of diphtheria, malaria, and dysentery on September 22, 1942. 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 Prince is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Hernandez, Lorenzo
Army Private 1st class

Lorenzo Hernandez from New Mexico, McKinley county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Friday, July 24, 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 First Class Lorenzo Hernandez joined the U.S. Army from New Mexico and was a member of Battery D, 200th Coast Artillery Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. The 200th Coast Artillery Regiment arrived in the Philippines in September 1941, and was stationed at Fort Stotsenburg on Clark Air Base. After Japanese forces invaded the Philippines in December, the 200th was ordered to the Bataan Peninsula where they participated in the defense of Bataan. PFC Hernandez was with his unit when Allied troops in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese on 9 April, 1942. He and the other surviving members of his unit were forced on the Bataan Death March and ultimately interned at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province, where he died of dysentery on July 24, 1942. 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 First Class Hernandez is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Miller, Douglas W.
Army Private 1st class

Douglas W. Miller from New Mexico, Curry county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Thursday, July 23, 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 First Class Douglas W. Miller joined the U.S. Army from New Mexico and was a member of the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured following the American surrender and interned at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province, where he died of malaria on July 23, 1942. 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 First Class Miller is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Sumner, Oren
Navy Seaman 2nd class

Oren Sumner, age 17, from Bernalillo County Albuquerque, New Mexico .

Parents: J.F. Sumner

Service era: World War II
Schools: Albuquerque High

Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Albuquerque Tribune (1941)

Livers, Wayne Nichlas
Navy Fireman 1st class

Wayne Nichlas Livers from Valencia County Belen, New Mexico .

Parents: Ira E. Livers

Service era: World War II
Schools: Balen High (1940)

Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Albuquerque Tribune (1941)

Livers, Raymond Edward
Navy Seaman 1st class

Raymond Edward Livers from Valencia County Belen, New Mexico .

Parents: Ira E. Livers

Service era: World War II
Schools: Balen High (1940)

Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Albuquerque Tribune (1941)

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