Tag: Wichita County Texas

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Freeman, Leonard Jr.
Army Sergeant

Leonard Jr. Freeman, age 22, from Wichita County Burkburnett, Texas .

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Friday, December 1, 1950
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 First Class Leonard Freeman Jr., who joined the U.S. Army from Texas, was a member of K Company, 3rd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action during the fighting withdrawal from Kunu-ri, but the exact circumstances surrounding his loss are unknown. He was never reported as a prisoner of war, and his remains have not been recovered or identified following the end of hostilities. Today, Sergeant First Class Freeman 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, Fort Worth Star Telegram (1954)

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Jeter, Donald Eugene
Army Private 1st class

Donald Eugene Jeter from Texas, Wichita county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Friday, December 1, 1950

Death details:  On the evening of November 27, 1950, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) launched a massive attack against the U.S. and United Nations troops stationed in the Chosin Reservoir area in northeast North Korea, resulting in a seventeen-day conflict that became known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. At the time of the initial CCF attack, members the U.S. Army’s 31st and 32nd Infantry Regiments were defending the area north of Sinhung-ni, on the east side of the reservoir. The defenders were overwhelmed by the numerically superior CCF, and on December 1, were forced to withdraw to friendly lines at Hagaru-ri. Chinese roadblocks from Sinhung-ni to Hagaru-ri along with the constant enemy fire from the surrounding high ground, made the withdrawal route extremely dangerous. Eventually, the column was broken into separate segments, which the CCF attacked individually. Many men were lost or captured during the moving battle, with survivors reaching friendly lines in Hagaru-ri on December 2 and 3.

Corporal Donald Eugene Jeter, who entered the U.S. Army from Texas, was a member of the Medical Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. On December 1, he was wounded during his unit’s withdrawal from the P’ungnyuri Inlet to Hagaru-ri. Corporal Jeter was recovered and loaded onto an ambulance with other wounded soldiers for transport south to Hagaru-ri, but went missing in action at some point during this movement. Specific details regarding his loss are unknown. He was not reported on any shared prisoner of war lists, and he remains unaccounted-for. Today, Corporal Jeter is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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Carter, Fred A.
Corporal

Fred A. Carter, age 24, from Electra, Texas, Wichita county.

Parents: Grace Carter

Service era: Post World War II

Date of death: Saturday, July 9, 1949
Death details: Killed in a vehicle accident near Haupstuhl, Germany

Source: Associated Press (1949)

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Dean, Billy Bob
Navy Reserves Radarman 3rd class

Billy Bob Dean from Wichita Falls, Texas, Wichita county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, December 18, 1944
Death details: He was aboard the destroyer USS Hull as it operated as part of the Fast Carrier Strike Force in the Philippine Sea. On December 17, 1944, the Hull was participating in refueling operations when the ships of its fueling group were engulfed by Typhoon Cobra. The Hull lost its ability to steer amid the enormous waves and began taking on water. The Hull eventually took on too much water to stay afloat and rolled and sank shortly before noon, on December 18. Sixty-two crew members were rescued, but a little more than two-hundred crew members were lost in the sinking.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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Rogers, Elmo Leon
Navy Seaman 2nd class

Elmo Leon Rogers, age 23, from Electra, Texas, Wichita county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Friday, November 13, 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. Seaman Second Class Elmo L. Rogers entered the U.S. Navy from Texas and served aboard the USS Genesee (AT-55) in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured on Corregidor Island following the American surrender on May 6, 1942, and died of dysentery on November 13, 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, Seaman Second Class Rogers 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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Barner, Walter Ray
Navy Reserves Seaman 2nd class

Walter Ray Barner, age 20, from Wichita County Wichita Falls, Texas .

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.
Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial

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

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Bates, Robert Alvin
Navy Pharmacists mate 3rd class

Robert Alvin Bates, age 22, from Wichita County Kamay, Texas .

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.
Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial

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