Vidalia Georgia

Duncan, Onnie David
Army Sergeant

Onnie David Duncan, age 22, from Vidalia, Georgia, Toombs county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, August 26, 1970

Source: National Archives, Eureka Times Standard (1970)

Smith, William Silas
Army Private 1st class

William Silas Smith, age 19, from Toombs County Vidalia, Georgia .

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Friday, September 1, 1950
Death details: On June 3, 2019, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Corporal William Silas Smith, missing from the Korean War. Corporal Smith joined the U.S. Army from Georgia and was a member of E Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. In late August of 1950, his unit was positioned along the Naktong River near Yongsan, South Korea, as part of the Pusan Perimeter, a defensive line meant to slow the advance of the invading North Korean People’s Army. CPL Smith was reported missing in action after an enemy assault on his unit’s position on September 1, 1950, though the exact circumstances surrounding his loss are unknown. In September 1950, a set of unknown remains were recovered from northeast of Yongsan. These remains could not be identified and at the time and were eventually designated X-193 and buried as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. An extensive historical and anthropological investigation by DPAA eventually prompted the disinterment and re-examination of X-193 in October 2017. These remains were identified as those of CPL Smith. Corporal Smith 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

Futch, Arvous
Army Corporal

Arvous Futch from Chatham County Vidalia, Georgia .

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 Arvous Futch, who joined the U.S. Army from Georgia, was a member of the Medical Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by the enemy during the fighting withdrawal from Kunu-ri on December 1. He died of malnutrition in June of 1951, while in enemy custody near Pyoktong, North Korea. His remains have not been recovered, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Sergeant Futch 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, Atlanta Constitution (1954)

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