Byrd T. Quillen from Leighton, Oklahoma .
Service era: World War I
Date of death: Unknown
Death details: Died of disease
Source: Soldiers of the Great War
Quillen, Byrd T.
Gilbert, Orliff R.
Private
Orliff R. Gilbert from Caddo County Hinton, Oklahoma .
Service era: World War I
Date of death: Unknown
Death details: Killed in action
Source: Soldiers of the Great War
Griffiths, Jack David
Army Captain
Jack David Griffiths from Comanche County Lawton, Oklahoma .
Spouse: Marcella C. Griffiths
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Unknown
Death details: On April 28, 2016, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Major Jack David Griffiths, missing from the Korean War. Major Griffiths joined the U.S. Army from Oklahoma and was a member of the Headquarters Company, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. On November 30, 1950, he was captured by enemy forces during an engagement near Somin-dong, North Korea. MAJ Griffiths was taken to Prisoner of War Camp 5 in Pyoktong, North Korea, where he died of illness in August 1951. In1954, his remains were returned to U.S. custody; however, they could not be identified at the time and were buried as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Advances in forensic techniques eventually prompted the re-examination and identification of MAJ Griffiths’s remains. Major Griffiths 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, Lawton Constitution (1950)
Haynes, William
Marines Platoon sergeant
William Haynes from Dewey County Leedey, Oklahoma .
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Unknown
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. Platoon Sergeant William Haynes, who entered the U.S. Marine Corps from California, served with Company B, 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, in the Philippines at the time of the Japanese invasion. He was taken prisoner by Japanese forces and interned on the Philippines until December 1944, when he was put aboard the ship Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. PlSgt Haynes 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. PlSgt Haynes’s remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted for. Today, Platoon Sergeant Haynes is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
LeSueur, Taylor A. Jr.
Army Corporal
Taylor A. Jr. LeSueur from Okmulgee County Okmulgee, Oklahoma .
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Unknown
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. Corporal Taylor A. LeSueur Jr. joined the U.S. Army from Oklahoma and was a member of Company D, 1st Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, stationed 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 CPL LeSueur 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. Corporal LeSueur remains were not located or identified after the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Corporal LeSueuer is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Mania American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Muskogee Times Democrat (1945)
Shaw, Carl E.
Army Private 1st class
Carl E. Shaw from Custer County Oklahoma.
Spouse: Betty Ahern Shaw
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Unknown
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. Private First Class Carl E. Shaw, who entered the U.S. Army from Oklahoma, served in Medical Detachment, 31st Infantry Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was taken as a POW following the Japanese invasion and interned in the islands until December 1944, when he was put aboard the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate PFC Shaw 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. Private First Class Shaw’s remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Private First Class Shaw is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Cumberland Evening Times (1944)