James Hardy Wilbanks, age 20, from Grand Saline, Texas, Van Zandt county.
Parents: Joe H. Wilbanks
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, February 14, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile death in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Lloyd Lee Tucker, age 21, from Van Zandt County Canton, Texas .
Parents: Howell J. Tucker
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Friday, August 11, 1950
Death details: On August 10, 1950, members of the 3rd Battalion of the 9th Infantry Regiment combined with Battery C of the 15th Field Artillery Battalion as Task Force Bradley. The task force was directed to defend the city of P’ohang-dong, and Yonil Airfield, South Korea, from an impending attack by North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) forces. Late that day, Task Force Bradley moved along the main road toward P’ohang-dong and Yonil. Much of the task force reached Yonil shortly before midnight; however, during the early hours of August 11, NKPA fighters ambushed one company and four vehicles from Battery C were ambushed by NKPA fighters, preventing the ambushed men from reaching their destination.
Corporal Lloyd Lee Tucker, who joined the U.S. Army from Texas, served with Battery C of the 15th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action on August 11, 1950, as his unit, attached to Task Force Bradley, was ambushed by enemy forces near Angang-ni. No one saw him fall, and he was not reported to be a prisoner of war. His remains were not discovered by American Graves Registration Service personnel when they canvassed the battlefield in 1952 and 1953, and they have not been identified among those returned to U.S. custody. Today, Corporal Tucker 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, Beaumont Journal (1953)
Howard P. Hardegree, age 27, from Van Zandt County Wheeler, Texas .
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, December 15, 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 Howard P. Hardegree, who joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Texas, served with the 3rd Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, 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 Hardegree 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. His remains were not recovered after the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Second Lieutenant Hardegree is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Tyler Morning Telegraph (1945)
Clarence S. Hobbs, age 34, from Texas, Van Zandt county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, September 22, 1945
Death details: Finding of death
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Allen B. Fincher, age 23, from Van Zandt County Canton, Texas .
Parents: Clara Fincher
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.
Source: National Archives, Tyler Morning Telegraph (1942)
Phillip E. Funderburk, age 26, from Willis Point, Texas, Van Zandt county.
Service era: World War I
Date of death: Tuesday, November 5, 1918
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: White Rose in Wills Point
Source: Soldiers of the Great War, findagrave.com