Tucson Arizona

Hildebrand, John Kenneth
Navy Pharmacist’s mate 1st class

John Kenneth Hildebrand, age 20, from Tucson, Arizona, Pima county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, November 21, 1943
Death details: From November 20 through 23, 1943, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy conducted a large-scale amphibious assault on the Japanese-held atoll of Tarawa as part of Operation Galvanic, the Allied capture of the Gilbert Islands. Located 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, Tarawa was a crucial stepping stone in the planned U.S. offensive across the central Pacific toward Japan. The Japanese garrison on Tarawa’s main island of Betio was well-entrenched with hundreds of bunkers and gun positions behind formidable beach obstacles. The first wave of Marines approaching the shore encountered lower-than-expected tides, forcing them to leave their landing craft on the reef and wade the hundreds of yards to the beach under intense enemy fire. The heaviest number of U.S. casualties were suffered during this phase of the landing. Eventually, rising tides allowed U.S. warships to maneuver closer to shore and support the troops with effective naval gunfire. More Marines landed on the second day, launching attacks inland from the beaches and seizing the Japanese airfield on the island. However, the enemy launched vicious counterattacks and two more days of intense fighting were needed to secure Betio. The last enemy strongpoints were taken on the morning of November 23. The fighting on Betio cost the Marines nearly 3,000 casualties but enabled U.S. forces to press further across the Pacific and yielded valuable tactical lessons that reduced U.S. losses in future amphibious landings. Pharmacist’s Mate First Class John Kenneth Hildebrand, who joined the U.S. Navy from Arizona, was attached to Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. PHM1 Hildbebrand was killed in action on November 21, 1943, during the Battle of Tarawa. He was buried on Betio Island, but after the war his remains could not be located. Today, Pharmacist’s Mate First Class Hildebrand is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

VanHorn, James Randolph
Navy Apprentice seaman

James Randolph VanHorn, age 17, from Tucson, Arizona, Pima county.

Service era: World War II
Schools: Tucson 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, Arizona Republic (1966), Tucson Daily Citizen (1944)

Dupuy, Glen Merrill
Army Private

Glen Merrill Dupuy from Pima County Tucson, Arizona .

Parents: Glen M. Dupuy

Service era: Korea
Schools: Tucson High (1948)

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 Glen Merrill Dupuy, who joined the U.S. Army from Arizona, was a member of the Medical Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by the CCF during the fighting withdrawal from Kunu-ri on December 1, 1950. PFC Dupuy was eventually marched to Camp 5, a prison camp on the bank of the Yalu River in Pyoktong, North Korea, where he died of dysentery, exhaustion, and pneumonia in March or April 1951. His remains have not been recovered, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Private First Class Dupuy 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, Arizona Daily Star (1951)

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