Worcester County Massachusetts

Musson, Ralph I.
Army 2nd lieutenant

Ralph I. Musson from Massachusetts, Worcester county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, June 30, 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. Second Lieutenant Ralph I. Musson joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Massachusetts and served with 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 on June 30, 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 of those recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Second Lieutenant Musson is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Curd, Charles W.
Army Technician 5

Charles W. Curd from Massachusetts, Worcester county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, June 28, 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. Technician Fifth Grade Charles W. Curd entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Massachusetts and served with the 17th Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of dysentery and starvation on June 28, 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, Technician Fifth Grade Curd is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Thomas, Stanley Horace
Navy Fireman 3rd class

Stanley Horace Thomas, age 21, from Whitinsville, Massachusetts, Worcester county.

Parents: Eugene E. Thomas

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, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, The Herald Press (1944), Boston Globe (1942)

Parkins, Joseph J.
Navy Chief Water Tender (PA)

Joseph J. Parkins, age 33, from Worcester County Worcester, Massachusetts .

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Friday, October 31, 1941
Death details: Died in the sinking of the destroyer USS Reuben James

Source: Los Angeles Times (1941), Boston Globe (1941)

Stankus, Anthony Gedminus
Navy Seaman second class

Anthony Gedminus Stankus, age 19, from Worcester County Worcester, Massachusetts .

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Friday, October 31, 1941
Death details: Died in the sinking of the destoryer USS Reuben James

Source: Los Angeles Times (1941), Boston Globe (1941)

Britt, Harold Lelie
Navy Coxswain

Harold Lelie Britt, age 22, from Worcester County Athol, Massachusetts .

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Friday, October 31, 1941
Death details: Died in the sinking of the destoryer USS Reuben James

Source: Los Angeles Times (1941), Boston Globe (1941)

Guilfoil, Thomas F.
Army Private

Thomas F. Guilfoil from Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester county.

Service era: Early 1900s

Date of death: Wednesday, July 22, 1931
Cemetery: Killed in the accidental discharge of a machine gun at Camp Devins. The gun was being moved on the target range when the accident occurred.

Source: Associated Press (1931)

Hall, Arthur Paul
Army Corporal

Arthur Paul Hall, age 20, from Worcester County Massachusetts.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Unknown
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 Arthur Paul Hall, who joined the U.S. Army from Massachusetts, served with the Headquarters, Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces on November 30, 1950, during the withdrawal to Sunchon. He was marched with a large group of prisoners to POW Camp 5 at Pyoktong, North Korea, where he died of malnutrition sometime in April 1951. He was not identified among the remains returned to the U.S. following the war and is still unaccounted-for. Today, Sergeant Hall 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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