George Geoffrey Karr, age 23, from Tigard, Oregon, Washington county.
Parents: George R. Karr
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, March 3, 1970
Death details: Killed in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Larry Hugh Trussell, age 19, from Forest Grove, Oregon, Washington county.
Parents: Berteen E. Jansen
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, February 1, 1970
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Assocaited Press (1970)
Stanley Kent Cleveland, age 22, from Portland, Oregon, Washington County.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Wednesday, November 15, 1950
Death details: In November 1950, elements of the U.S. Army’s 2nd Infantry Division were participating in the advance northwards up the Chongchon River, attempting to consolidate recent gains. At this point, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) had entered the war but not yet shown great numbers. Units of the 2nd Infantry Division took part in a series of small actions along the banks of the Chongchon, clearing hilly areas of North Korean, and possibly some CCF, troops. Some U.S. casualties were sustained during these actions. On November 25, the massive southward counter-offensive by CCF troops pouring south pushed U.S. units out of the area and precluded attempts to recover the remains of some fallen soldiers.
Private First Class Stanley K. Cleveland, who entered the U.S. Army from Oregon, was serving with A Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division at the time of the CCF incursion into Korea. He went missing in action on November 15 as his unit took part in clearing enemy forces from hills along the Chongchon’s south bank. Attempts to recover him were prevented by CCF troops overrunning the area a short time later, and the territory was never returned to U.S. control. He was not associated with any of the remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Private First Class Cleveland is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Raymond A. Freel, age 31, from Washington County Oregon.
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. Second Lieutenant Raymond A. Freel, who entered the U.S. Army from Oregon, served with the 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 2LT Freel 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. Second Lieutenant Freel’s remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted for. Today, Second Lieutenant Freel is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
William Howard Brown from Washington County Forest Grove, Oregon .
Parents: and William F. Brown
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.
Cemetery: Honolulu Memorial
Source: National Archives, Statesman Journal (2013)
Claude Olliver Gowey, age 20, from Washington County Hillsboro, Oregon .
Parents: Hazel Mae Shipley
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Oklahoma. Accounted for August 31, 2018
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Albany Democrat Herald (2018)
Verrel Roy Heater, age 23, from Washington County Sherwood, Oregon .
Parents: Ray Heater
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, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency