George Bernard Robinson, age 19, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, April 13, 1970
Cemetery: Fort Gibson National
Source: National Archives, findagrave.com
Edward Monroe Hudgens, age 38, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa county.
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Graduated in 1950 from high school in Tulasa
Date of death: Saturday, March 21, 1970
Death details: Killed when his plane was shot down over Laos.
Source: National Archives, Daily Oklahoman (1970)
Maxie Dean Linam, age 20, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, February 18, 1970
Source: National Archives
Edgar Russell Jr. Pulliam, age 20, from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Tulsa county.
Spouse: Elizabeth A. Pulliam
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, January 11, 1970
Death details: Killed in action
Source: National Archives, Daily Oklahoman (1970)
Joseph Mark Lauinger, age 24, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa county.
Parents: P.C. Lauinger
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, January 8, 1970
Death details: Killed in Vietnam
Cemetery: Calvary in Tulsa
Source: National Archives, News Herald (1970)
Patrick Lee Shannon, age 33, from Owasso, Oklahoma, Tulsa county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, March 11, 1968
Death details: On October 31, 2005, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Technical Sergeant Patrick Lee Shannon, missing from the Vietnam War. Technical Sergeant Shannon joined the U.S. Air Force from Oklahoma and was a member of Detachment 1 of the 1043rd Radar Evaluation Squadron. On March 11, 1968, he was stationed at a tactical air navigation facility in Houaphan Province, Laos, when it was overrun by Vietnamese communist forces. TSgt Shannon was killed in the attack, and rescue teams could not recover his remains at the time. Enemy presence in the area prevented further search and rescue efforts for those lost in the attack. After the war, joint U.S., Vietnamese, and Laotian teams conducted multiple investigations to recover those missing from the attack on the facility. In 2003, the investigations led to the recovery of remains that U.S. forensic analysis later identified as those of TSgt Shannon.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Louie E. Hutton, age 19, from Oklahoma, Tulsa county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: July 26, 1951
Death details: On May 25, 1951, elements of the 187th Regimental Combat Team (RCT) were assigned to secure a bridgehead on the Soyang River in South Korea. The RCT, bolstered by two companies of tanks, launched a counter-attack against Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) that had taken control of the river’s northern shore. Despite fierce enemy resistance, the 187th RCT successfully dislodged the CCF, and then began a cautious push northward in an attempt to locate and destroy other enemy forces. The 187th RCT was still engaged with CCF troops by the end of the day, and suffered several casualties over the course of the fighting.
Corporal Louie Ellihue Hutton joined the U.S. Army from Oklahoma and was a member of the Service Company, 187th RCT. He took part in the fighting on May 25, and was captured by the enemy at some point during the battles that day. He joined a group of prisoners who were marched north into North Korean territory. Around July 26, 1951, near the Suan Mining Camp, CPL Hutton became too weak to continue, and his captors ordered he be left behind. No prisoners of war reported seeing CPL Hutton after this point, and he is thought to have died a few days after being left. His remains have not been recovered, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Corporal Hutton is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Charles L. Smelcer, age 25, from Tulsa County Tulsa, Oklahoma .
Parents: Bertha Hazel Forman
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. Private First Class Charles L. Smelcer, who entered the U.S. Army from Oklahoma, served with Company H, 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 Smelcer 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 Smelcer’s remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Private First Class Smelcer is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Tulsa World (1943)
Leo B. Jr. Golden, age 28, from Tulsa County Tulsa, Oklahoma .
Parents: L. B. Golden
Service era: World War II
Schools: Tulsa University graduate
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. Second Lieutenant Leo B. Golden Jr. joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Oklahoma and was a member of the 21st Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, 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 2LT Golden was killed several weeks later as a result of wounds suffered 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. His remains were not recovered or identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Second Lieutenant Golden is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Tulsa Tribune (1945)
Walter Gerald Jr. Johnson from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Monday, December 18, 1944
Death details: He was aboard the destroyer USS Hull as it operated as part of the Fast Carrier Strike Force in the Philippine Sea. On December 17, 1944, the Hull was participating in refueling operations when the ships of its fueling group were engulfed by Typhoon Cobra. The Hull lost its ability to steer amid the enormous waves and began taking on water. The Hull eventually took on too much water to stay afloat and rolled and sank shortly before noon, on December 18. Sixty-two crew members were rescued, but a little more than two-hundred crew members were lost in the sinking.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency