Volusia County Florida

Chewning, Harry John
Navy Petty officer 2nd class

Harry John Chewning, age 31, from Ormond Beach, Florida, Volusia county.

Parents: Marion Schooler
Spouse: Married

Service era: Korea
Military history: World War II veteran

Date of death: Tuesday, June 12, 1951
Death details: On June 12, 1951, the destroyer USS Walke (DD-723) was providing anti-submarine protection to carriers from Task Force 77 off the east coast of Wonsan, North Korea, when it was struck on the port side by an enemy mine or torpedo. The force of the explosion tossed many sailors into the water, and those who were injured had a difficult time staying afloat while they waited for rescue. Twenty-six sailors were killed in the explosion and forty were wounded. Although the ship’s hull was heavily damaged, after the incident the Walke was able to proceed under its own power to Sasebo, Japan, for repairs. Of the men killed in the incident, the remains of eight could not be recovered. During repairs, the remains of seven sailors were recovered from flooded parts of the ship and identified. However, two of those men later became unaccounted-for due to unknown circumstances, so the total number of unaccounted-for sailors from the Walke now stands at ten. Sonarman Second Class Harry John Chewning, who joined the U.S. Navy from Florida, served aboard the Walke. He was killed in the June 12 explosion after his ship struck a mine, and his body was not recovered. Today, Sonarman Second Class Chewning is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, The Item (1951)

Bostick, Robert J.
Army Private

Robert J. Bostick, age 21, from Florida, Volusia county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, July 12, 1942
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor and food and water supplied extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Private Robert J. Bostick, who entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Florida, served in the 91st Bombardment Squadron, 27th Bombardment Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of malaria and dysentery on July 12, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Private Bostick is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Cemetery: Manila American Cemetery

Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Back To Top