Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Joseph Gustave Little, age 18, from Kings County Brooklyn, New York .
Parents: Joseph Patrick Little
Service era: World War II
Schools: Holy Cross in Flatbush graduate, Bishop Loughlin High
Date of death: Friday, October 31, 1941
Death details: Died in the sinking of the destroyer USS Reuben James
Source: Los Angeles Times (1941), The Tablet (1941)
Ward J. Flanders from New York, Montgomery county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Unknown
Death details: Killed in action
Source: National Archives
John Graham Jr. Lavelle, age 24, from Kings County Brooklyn, New York .
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Unknown
Death details: On June 23, 2011, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Private First Class John Graham Lavelle Jr., missing from the Korean War. Private First Class Lavelle entered the U.S. Army from New York and served in Company B, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by the enemy on December 1, 1950, as his unit was overrun by enemy forces near Kunu-ri, North Korea. PFC Lavelle was interned at POW Camp 5 at Pyoktong, Noth Korea, where he died from malnutrition in1951, but his remains were not returned to the U.S. at that time. In 1954, the North Korean government repatriated the remains of thousands of U.S. service members during Operation Glory, many of which could not be identified at the time; however, in 2011, analysts used modern forensic techniques and identified PFC Lavelle from among these remains.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Joseph August Blissenbach from New York County New York.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Unknown
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 Joseph August Blissenbach, who joined the U.S. Army from New York, was a member of the Service Battery, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by the enemy as his unit was overrun during their withdrawal south to Sunchon. He was marched to a prisoner of war holding camp in the Pukchin-Tarigol Valley, but died in February 1951, either at the holding camp or en route to Camp 5 near the Yalu River, and was buried by his companions. His remains have not been identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Sergeant First Class Blissenbach 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
James Wallce Buckley from Monroe County New York.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Unknown
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. Corporal James Wallace Buckley, who joined the U.S. Army from New York, was a member of the Headquarters Company, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured on November 30, 1950, near Somin-dong, North Korea, during the 38th Infantry Regiment’s defense of the area east of Kunu-ri. He was marched north to holding camps along the Yalu River and died of malnutrition on or before January 31, 1951, at the Pukchin Mining “Death Valley” POW Camp. He was buried near the camp, but his remains were not identified among those returned to the U.S. following the war. He is still unaccounted-for. Today, Corporal Buckley 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
Daniel William Gerrity from Kings County Brooklyn, New York .
Parents: Nan C. Gerrity
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Unknown
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. Private First Class Daniel William Gerrity, who joined the U.S. Army from New York, served with the Headquarters Battalion, Division Artillery, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces on November 30, 1950, as the 2nd Infantry Division was withdrawing to Sunchon. He was marched to Camp 5 at Pyoktong on the Yalu River, where he died of malnutrition on an unspecified date in May or June, 1951. Although he was buried near the camp, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Private First Class Gerrity 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, UPI (1953)
Burton Andrew Gracey from New York County New York City, New York .
Service era: Korea
Military history: Served in the Navy during World War II
Date of death: Unknown
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 Burton Andrew Gracey joined the U.S. Army from New York and was a member of the Service Battery, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. On November 30, 1950, he was captured by enemy forces outside of Somindong, North Korea, as his unit made its fighting withdrawal toward Sunchon. Sergeant First Class Gracey was marched to the Death Valley prisoner of war camp in North Korea, where he died in March 1951. He was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Sergeant First Class Gracey 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, The Journal (1951)
Kenneth J. Seitler from Cattaraugas County Olean, New York .
Parents: Charles A. Seitler
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Unknown
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Buffalo News (1943)
Rush P. Cady, age 21, from Rome, New York.
Service era: Civil War
Military history: 97th Infantry, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, I Corps Company K
Date of death: Wednesday, July 24, 1863
Death details: Died from wounds received at Gettysburg
Source: These Honored Dead, Hamilton College