Cody A. Khork, age 35, from Polk County Winter Haven, Florida .
Service era: Iran
Date of death: Sunday, March 1, 2026
Death details: Died in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait during an unmanned aircraft system attack.
Source: Department of Defense, New York Times (2026)
Christian Bautista Williams, age 27, from Winter Haven, Florida, Polk county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: D Co, 3D Lar Bn, (Rct-7, I Mef Fwd), 1St Mar Div, Twentynine Palms, Ca
Date of death: Saturday, July 29, 2006
Death details: Hostile; Rawah, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
William Forman Abernethy from Winter Haven, Florida, Polk county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, July 21, 1970
Source: National Archives
Patrick Darren Lovell, age 22, from Winter Haven, Florida, Polk county.
Spouse: Dianna Faye Lovell
Children: Patrick D. and Robert R. Lovell
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, June 23, 1970
Source: National Archives, Tampa Tribune (1970)
Jerry Newton Phillips, age 39, from Winter Haven, Florida, Polk county.
Parents: Anna Phillips
Spouse: Margaret E. Phillips
Children: Laura, Cindy, John
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, May 2, 1970
Death details: Died in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Playground Daily News (1970)
John Norlee Flanigan, age 35, from Winter Haven, Florida, Polk county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, August 19, 1969
Death details: On June 13, 1997, Joint Task Force–Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Captain John Norlee Flanigan, missing from the Vietnam War.
Captain Flanigan entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Florida and was a member of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 542, Marine Air Group 11, 1st Marine Air Wing. On August 19, 1969, he was the radar intercept officer aboard an F-4B Phantom II (bureau number 149416, call sign “Pigment 502”) that took off from South Vietnam to escort a photo reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. During the mission, “Pigment 502” crashed for unknown reasons; Capt Flanigan was killed in the crash but his remains were not recovered at the time of his loss. In 1989, a joint U.S./Vietnamese investigative team recovered human remains associated with this F-4B’s loss, and the Vietnamese government eventually repatriated additional remains associated with the loss. Modern forensic techniques were able to identify Capt Flanigan among the remains recovered.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Peter Joseph Stewart, age 37, from Polk County Winter Haven, Florida .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, March 15, 1966
Death details: On February 28, 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Colonel Peter Joseph Stewart, missing from the Vietnam War. Colonel Stewart, who joined the U.S. Army from Florida, served with Headquarters, 8th Tactical Fighter Wing. On March 15, 1966, he piloted a two-seat F-4C Phantom II (tail number 64-0732, call sign “Boron 02”) on an armed reconnaissance mission over Dien Bien Phu, North Vietnam. While making a strafing run on two vehicles located in the target area, Col Stewart’s aircraft crashed near the target, killing him. The active enemy presence prevented a ground search for his remains, and he was not recovered at the time. In 2014, a joint U.S./Vietnamese recovery team excavated the crash site, with several further excavations occurring between 2014 and 2017. Human remains were recovered from the site and were eventually identified as those of Col Stewart. Colonel Stewart is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Gerald Everett Olson, age 29, from Polk County Winter Haven, Florida .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, March 13, 1966
Death details: On March 13, 1966, an AC-47D Spooky (tail number 4349268) with seven crew members departed Da Nang Air Base for an armed reconnaissance mission over a portion of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos. The aircraft made radio contact with a ground station shortly before entering Laotian airspace but was not seen or heard from again. Search and rescue efforts in the following days failed to locate the crash site or any crew members. Captain Gerald Everett Olson entered the U.S. Air Force from Florida and served in the 4th Air Commando Squadron. He was the navigator aboard the AC-47D when it went missing on March 13, 1966, and his remains have not been located. While carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the U.S. Air Force promoted Capt Olson to the rank of Major (Maj). Today, Major Olson is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Rhea P. Frierson, age 22, from Winter Haven, Florida.
Service era: World War I
Date of death: Friday, October 18, 1918
Death details: Died of disease
Cemetery: Arlington National
Source: Soldiers of the Great War, findagrave.com