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Drake, Delbert Raymond
Army Private 1st class

Delbert Raymond Drake, age 21, from Washington, Island county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Friday, July 10, 1953
Death details: On July 6, 1953, a large Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) unit attacked and overran the U.S. Army outposts on Pork Chop Hill in an attempt to seize whatever territory possible before the impending armistice agreement. After fighting for the position for four days, on July 10, the 7th Infantry Division Commander determined that the CCF disregard for casualties and desire to hold the outpost outweighed the position’s tactical value, and ordered a withdrawal that was eventually completed on July 11. The U.S. never again controlled Pork Chop Hill, preventing thorough recovery efforts for those who were killed or went missing during the fighting. Corporal Delbert Raymond Drake, who joined the U.S. Army from Washington, served with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was killed on July 10 when Chinese troops overran his unit’s position during the fight for control of Pork Chop Hill. Conditions on the battlefield prevented the immediate recovery of his body, and the area where he fell soon became part of the Demilitarized Zone. Today, Corporal Drake is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Sundberg, Leonard E
Army Private

Leonard E Sundberg, age 21, from Washington, King county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Wednesday, July 8, 1953
Death details: On July 6, 1953, a large Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) unit attacked and overran the U.S. Army outposts on Pork Chop Hill in an attempt to seize whatever territory possible before the impending armistice agreement. After fighting for the position for four days, on July 10, the 7th Infantry Division Commander determined that the CCF disregard for casualties and desire to hold the outpost outweighed the position’s tactical value, and ordered a withdrawal that was eventually completed on July 11. The U.S. never again controlled Pork Chop Hill, preventing thorough recovery efforts for those who were killed or went missing during the fighting. Private First Class Leonard Eugene Sundberg, who joined the U.S. Army from Washington, served with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He went missing on July 8, 1953, during the attack on Pork Chop Hill. His remains could not be recovered or identified following the battle and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Private First Class Sundberg is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Sparks, Harold
Army Corporal

Harold Sparks from Washington, King county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: On February 4, 2016, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant Harold Sparks, missing from the Korean War. Sergeant Sparks entered the U.S. Army from Washington and served with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, he was with Company L supporting elements of the 1st Cavalry Division near Unsan, North Korea, north of a bend in the Kuryong River known as the “Camel’s Head Bend.” That day, Chinese Communist Forces struck the 1st Cavalry Division’s lines, collapsing the perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. SGT Sparks was captured during the combat and later held at POW Camp 5 in Pyoktong, North Korea, where he died due to lack of medical care and malnutrition on or before April 30, 1951. He was buried nearby and his body was not returned to the U.S. at the time. Between 1991 and 1994, the North Korean government turned over the human remains of U.S. service members exhumed from the POW Camp 5 area, and U.S. analysts identified SGT Sparks from these remains.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Spiller, Elmo Murray
Army Private

Elmo Murray Spiller, age 17, from Washington, King county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: During the last week of October 1950, Republic of Korea (ROK) Army forces under the control of the U.S. Eighth Army were advancing deep in North Korean territory, approaching the Yalu River on the Chinese-Korean border. Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) struck back in a surprise attack, engaging the ROK 1st and 6th Divisions near Unsan, some sixty miles north of Pyongyang. The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment in the lead, was rushed forward to reinforce the ROK units in the Unsan area. On November 1, the regiment’s 1st Battalion took up positions north of Unsan, while the 2nd Battalion moved to guard the Nammyon River valley west of town, and the 3rd Battalion was placed in reserve at the valley’s southern end. Private First Class Elmo Murray Spiller joined the U.S. Army from Washington and was a member of Company I of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, members of Company I were in defensive positions with the 3rd Battalion when they were attacked and received orders to withdraw. The 3rd Battalion was the last unit in the withdrawal sequence and experienced heavy and constant attacks by the CCF. Private First Class Spiller was reported missing during the withdrawal’s rear-guard action, though specific details surrounding his loss are unknown. He was not reported as a prisoner of war nor has he been identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Private First Class Spiller is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Keenan, William Ryan
Army Private 1st class

William Ryan Keenan, age 27, from Washington, Clark county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Wednesday, November 1, 1950
Death details: During the last week of October 1950, Republic of Korea (ROK) Army forces under the control of the U.S. Eighth Army were advancing deep in North Korean territory, approaching the Yalu River on the Chinese-Korean border. Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) struck back in a surprise attack, engaging the ROK 1st and 6th Divisions near Unsan, some sixty miles north of Pyongyang. The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment in the lead, was rushed forward to reinforce the ROK units in the Unsan area. On November 1, the regiment’s 1st Battalion took up positions north of Unsan, while the 2nd Battalion moved to guard the Nammyon River valley west of town, and the 3rd Battalion was placed in reserve at the valley’s southern end. Private First Class William Ryan Keenan joined the U.S. Army from Washington and was a member of Company A of the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 1, 1950, Company A was near Unsan when the 1st Battalion came under intense attack and were forced to withdraw. A member of Company A who survived the battle reported that Private First Class Keenan was killed just prior to the withdrawal and fell into the defensive position he had dug during the battle. Conditions on the battlefield would have precluded the recovery of his body. He was never reported as a prisoner of war, and his remains were not identified among those returned to the U.S. following the war. Today, Private First Class Keenan is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Daniel, Richard Alonzo
Army Private

Richard Alonzo Daniel from Washington, Chelan county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Tuesday, October 31, 1950
Death details: On July 11, 1950, the U.S. Army’s 21st Infantry Regiment, which had arrived in Korea six days earlier, was placed in defensive positions near the town of Chochiwon, South Korea. The regiment was not at full strength and lacked artillery and anti-tank weapons. That day, they were attacked by North Korean forces and were forced to withdraw to avoid being surrounded, as well as to buy time until they could be reinforced and resupplied. Private First Class Richard Alonzo Daniel, who joined the U.S. Army from Washington, served with L Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces on July 11 near Chochiwon and was forced to march north to the Apex prison camps in North Korea. He died of exhaustion and pneumonia on October 31 at “the Cornfield,” a temporary prison camp near Manpo, North Korea. His remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Private First Class Daniel is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Machen, William Allen
Army Private 1st class

William Allen Machen from Washington, Cowlitz county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Tuesday, July 11, 1950
Death details: On July 11, 1950, the U.S. Army’s 21st Infantry Regiment, which had arrived in Korea six days earlier, was placed in defensive positions near the town of Chochiwon, South Korea. The regiment was not at full strength and lacked artillery and anti-tank weapons. That day, they were attacked by North Korean forces and were forced to withdraw to avoid being surrounded, as well as to buy time until they could be reinforced and resupplied. Corporal William Allen Machen, who joined the U.S. Army from Washington, served with I Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Division, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces on July 11 as his unit fought delaying actions between Pyongtaek and Chochiwon, and was marched north to the Apex prison camps in North Korea. As his group of prisoners reached the Changsong Pass, CPL Machen collapsed on the side of the road and was shot by a guard, who refused to let the prisoners stop to bury him. His remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war, and he is still unaccounted for. Today, Corporal Machen is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Wallin, Paul W.
Army Private

Paul W. Wallin from Washington, King county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Saturday, December 30, 1944
Death details: The Battle of the Hürtgen Forest, one of the bloodiest conflicts of World War II, was fought between Allied and German forces from September 1944 to February 1945. As U.S. forces advanced eastward into Germany, the defending Germans manned “Siegfried Line” positions opposite the Belgian border. The battle grew to involve approximately 200,000 troops, with tens of thousands of casualties on both sides. American forces initially entered the area seeking to block German reinforcements from moving north toward the fighting around Aachen, the westernmost city of Germany, near the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands. In the battle’s second phase and as part of the Allied’s larger offense toward the Rhine River, U.S. troops attempted to push through the forest to the banks of Roer River. Aided by bad weather and rough terrain, German forces in the Hürtgen Forest put up unexpectedly strong resistance due to a well-prepared defense. American forces were unable to break through to the Rur before the German Ardennes offensive struck in December 1944, known as the Battle of the Bulge, which halted the eastward Allied advance until February 1945. Private Paul W. Wallin, who joined the U.S. Army from Washington, was a member of Company A, 295th Engineer Combat Battalion, which participated in the Battle of Hürtgen Forest. While supporting infantry forces in the vicinity of the town of Winden, PVT Wallin was killed when a German mortar round detonated a stockpile of landmines near his platoon. His remains were not recovered or identified following the war and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Private Wallin is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Lorraine American Cemetery in Saint-Avold, France.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

McClung, Dale W.
Army Private

Dale W. McClung from Washington.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, December 1, 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, with food and water 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 Dale W. McClung joined the U.S. Army from Washington and served with the 31st Infantry Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of beriberi and malaria on December 1, 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 McClung is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Dohrn, Dorrance P.
Army Private 1st class

Dorrance P. Dohrn from Washington, Douglas county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Wednesday, November 11, 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 First Class Dorrance P. Dohrn entered the U.S. Army in Washington and served with the 10th Signal Service Company in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of beriberi on November 11, 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 First Class Dohrn is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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