Electricians Mate 2/c Maynard H. Edgar

USS Juneau (CL-52)

Hometown: Eldred

Missing in action 13 November 1942, near Guadalcanal

Tablets of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Philippines

After midnight on 13 November, the USS Juneau received the order, “Stand by to open fire.” Within minutes the Juneau and several other American warships were engaged with two Japanese battleships, a light cruiser and eleven destroyers near Savo Island. The ships fought at a distance of 1,600 yards, nearly point-blank range for their guns. The Japanese used search lights to find the American ships and direct their accurate fire. The Juneau, on which the five Sullivan brothers were stationed, was hit by a Japanese torpedo on the port side near the forward fire room. The shock wave from the explosion buckled the deck, shattered the fire control systems and knocked out power. She limped away from the battle, down by the bow and struggling to remain afloat. The Juneau rejoined five American ships at dawn to the southeast and at 11:01, the Japanese submarine I-26 fired three torpedoes at the USS San Francisco. All three missed, but one struck the Juneau on the port side very near the previous hit. The ensuing magazine explosion blew the ship in half, killing most of her crew of 623 and sank in less than two minutes. However, approximately 115 crew survived and were floating in the waters. There remained uncertainty about the number of Japanese submarines in the area and rescue efforts did not begin for several days. Exposure, exhaustion and shark attacks whittled down the survivors and only ten men were rescued from the water eight days after the sinking.

Ensign Robert P. Enright

USS Hammann (DD-412)

Hometown: Bradford

Missing in action 6 June 1942, Battle of Midway
Age: 25

Tablets of the Missing, Honolulu Memorial, Hawaii

The destroyer USS Hammann screened the USS Yorktown during the battle. While tied alongside Yorktown on the afternoon of 6 June, assisting her salvage, Hammann was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-168 and sank in a few minutes. Casualties among her crew of 192 were heavy with 80 killed or missing in action.

In his honor, the USS Enright (DE-216) was launched 29 May 1943 by Philadelphia Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. Katherine L. Enright, mother of Ensign Enright; and commissioned 21 September 1943. The ship’s first duty was escorting convoys across the Atlantic and she made six voyages to British ports.

Converted to a high-speed transport in early 1945, Enright sailed for duty in the Pacific where she saw service at Leyte Gulf, Okinawa, Tokyo Bay and China. She was decommissioned on 21 June 1946.

Private Carl R. Erickson

120th Field Artillery Battalion, 32nd Inf Division

Hometown: Smethport

Died of illness 14 June 1945, Northern Luzon, Philippines
Age: 21

Buried: Plot D, Row 6, Grave 69
Manila American Cemetery, Philippines

Staff Sergeant Robert E. Evans

393rd Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division

Hometown: Bradford

Killed in action 24 December 1944, Battle of the Bulge
Age: 28

Buried: Pleasant Valley Cemetery, Olean, NY

Electricians Mate 3/c Joseph R. Fazio, Jr.

USS Vincennes (CA-44)

Hometown: Bradford

Missing in action 9 August 1942, near Guadalcanal

Tablets of the Missing
Manila American Cemetery, Philippines

The Vincennes was sunk near Savo Island after being hit by two Japanese torpedoes and 57 shells. Of the 952 officers and sailors, 332 were KIA or MIA.

First Lieutenant Albert J. Fensel

419th Bomber Squadron, 301st Bomber Group, Heavy

Hometown: Bradford

Missing in action 11 August 1943

Tablets of the Missing
Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Nettuno, Italy

Pilot of the B-17F “Bonnie Sue,” his aircraft was shot down while returning from a mission somewhere over Italy. The plane that shot them down was a captured American P-38 fighter, with a German pilot

Major Charles W. Fetyko

112th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division

Hometown: Bradford

Died of wounds 8 August 1944, France

Buried: Plot E, Row 12, Grave 16
Brittany American Cemetery, St. James, France

Electricians Mate 1/c Donald E. Folk

USS Juneau (CL-52)

Hometown: Kane

Missing in action 13 November 1942, near Guadalcanal

Tablets of the Missing
Manila American Cemetery, Philippines

After midnight on 13 November, the USS Juneau received the order, “Stand by to open fire.” Within minutes the Juneau and several other American warships were engaged with two Japanese battleships, a light cruiser and eleven destroyers near Savo Island. The ships fought at a distance of 1,600 yards, nearly point-blank range for their guns. The Japanese used search lights to find the American ships and direct their accurate fire. The Juneau, on which the five Sullivan brothers were stationed, was hit by a Japanese torpedo on the port side near the forward fire room. The shock wave from the explosion buckled the deck, shattered the fire control systems and knocked out power. She limped away from the battle, down by the bow and struggling to remain afloat. The Juneau rejoined five American ships at dawn to the southeast and at 11:01, the Japanese submarine I-26 fired three torpedoes at the USS San Francisco. All three missed, but one struck the Juneau on the port side very near the previous hit. The ensuing magazine explosion blew the ship in half, killing most of her crew of 623 and sank in less than two minutes. However, approximately 115 crew survived and were floating in the waters. There remained uncertainty about the number of Japanese submarines in the area and rescue efforts did not begin for several days. Exposure, exhaustion and shark attacks whittled down the survivors and only ten men were rescued from the water eight days after the sinking.

First Lieutenant Thomas T. Fox

36th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group, Pacific

Hometown: Red Rock, Derrick City

Killed in action 22 March 1944, Over New Guinea

Buried: Plot A, Row 10, Grave 93
Manila American Cemetery, Philippines

Private William L. Fredell

7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division

Hometown: Kane

Killed in action 23 October 1944, France
Age: 22

Buried: Plot B, Row 42, Grave 6
Epinal American Cemetery, Epinal, France

Private Joseph J. Funari

36th Engineer Combat Regiment

Hometown: Bradford

Killed in action 13 September 1943, Salerno, Sicily
Age: 20

Buried: Plot F, Row 6, Grave 9
Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Nettuno, Italy

Funari was born in Rome, and came to U.S. in 1928

Sergeant Marshall L. Gathers, Jr

359th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division

Hometown: Bradford

Killed in action 9 November 1944, France
Age: 26

Buried: Plot J, Row 34, Grave 31
Lorraine American Cemetery, St. Avold, France

Seaman 1/Class Iley L. Gee, Jr.

USS PLUNKETT (DD-431)

Hometown: Bradford

Killed in action 24 January 1944, Cape Anzio, Italy
Age: 22

Buried: Plot E, Row 6, Grave 13
Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Nettuno, Italy

Commencing January 21, 1944, Plunkett escorted the follow up assault group to Cape Anzio. After delivering the craft, she remained in the area to screen the transports. On the 24th she fell victim to coordinated German air attacks which, involved two glider bombs coming in on the port beam, and two Ju.88's closing in from ahead. The ships speed was increased; maneuvering was radical. The glider bombs finally dropped, at 200 yards distance, but more planes had joined the foray to commence a sustained 17 minute battle. Plunkett took a 250kg. bomb hit and caught fire. ... The bomb killed 23, left 28 missing, with many more, wounded, and caused extensive damage to her fire control apparatus, armament, and port engine. ... Damage Control efforts on Plunkett were successful in putting out the fires and restoring power to the ship. Plunkett proceeded, on one engine, to Palermo where temporary repairs enabled her to reach Casablanca and, finally, New York, where repairs were completed.

Private James H. Gillis

333rd Infantry Regiment, 84th Infantry Division

Hometown: Kane

Killed in action 23 November 1944, Germany

Buried: Plot P, Row 17, Grave 8
Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands

Tech Sergeant Waldo W. Glass

705th Bomber Squadron, 446th Bomber Group, Heavy

Hometown: Bradford

Killed in action 12 June 1944

Buried: Plot J, Row 3, Grave 6
Brittany American Cemetery, St. James, France

Their B-24 was on mission to Rennes, France, and hit badly damaged by enemy flak and fighters. The plane crashed near Charles de Bretange, France. Three men were killed in the crash, two were shot and killed as they parachuted, one was taken prisoner. Four evaded capture back to friendly lines.

Seaman 1/Class Joseph A. Gocella

USS Emmons (DD-457)

Hometown: Bradford

Missing in action 6 April 1945, Near Okinawa

Tablets of the Missing, Honolulu Memorial, Hawaii

The Emmons saw duty during the Normandy Invasion and Operation Dragoon in Southern France before ordered to the Pacific for mine sweeping duties. At 16:30, 6 April 1945, while on picket duty off Iheya Jima, she was hit by five Kamikaze planes. With the stern smashed and most of the superstructure gone, it drifted towards enemy held Kouri Jima. The ship was purposely sunk with 96 five inch shell rounds from the USS Ellyson. Of the 254 crew members, fifty were killed or missing and sixty-five wounded.

Sergeant Charles W. Goodemote

60th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division

Hometown: Bradford

Killed in action 17 April 1945, Germany

Buried: Plot N, Row 2, Grave 4
Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands

Sergeant Edwin R. Gordon

87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Infantry Division

Hometown: Lewis Run

Killed in action 19 April 1945, Italy
Age: 21

Buried: Plot B, Row 12, Grave 28
Florence American Cemetery, Florence, Italy

Corporal Harry A. Gordon

HQ Company, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment,
82nd Airborne Division

Hometown: Bradford

Killed in action 13 July 1943, Sicily
Age: 29

Buried: Plot I, Row 9, Grave 19
Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Nettuno, Italy

Tech Sergeant 3/Grade John F. Gorton

Medical Corps, 5th U.S. Army

Hometown: Ormsby

Killed in action 27 September 1944, Italy
Age: 28

Buried: McKean Memorial Park, Lafayette Twp
Repatriated: 22 November 1949

Awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action on September 27, 1944. As word was received in the Battalion aid station, which was a small Italian church, that two soldiers were seriously wounded and lying five hundred yards forward of a rifle company command post, Sgt. Gorton volunteered to bring aid and plasma to the men. Two previous attempts were stopped by intense German automatic weapons and small arms fire. Gorton had a rifle squad deployed to give cover fire and crawled forward under the heavy fire. On his way across the open field, he was hit with three enemy bullets. He was carried back to the battalion aid station and the doctor did all he could to save him. Sgt. Gorton died at the foot of the church alter. His gallant sacrifice of life in volunteering for an extremely hazardous mission reflected great credit upon himself and his unit.

Lt Commander Gordon S. Grant

USS Juneau (CL-52)

Born: Santa Barbara, CA, 1904
Enlisted: Bradford, February 13, 1941

Employed in Bradford as a commerical engineer.

Missing in action 13 November 1942, Guadalcanal

Tablets of the Missing
Manila American Cemetery, Philippines

Sergeant Rex Vernon Gray

105th Engineer Aviation Battalion, U.S. Army

Hometown: Forman Street, Bradford

Died Non-Battle: 18 January 1944, Myanmar, Burma
Age: 21

Buried: Morningside Cemetery
Dubois, PA

First Lieutenant Harry G. Green

Liaison Pilot
155th Field Artillery Battalion, 36th Infantry Division

Hometown: South Avenue, Bradford

Killed in an air crash on 13 July 1945, Near Ulm, Germany
Age: 28

Buried: Plot E, Row 24, Grave 39
Lorraine American Cemetery, St. Avold, France

On V-E Day, he had completed 107 combat missions

First Lieutenant James D. Gudger

716th Bomber Squadron, 449th Bomber Group, Heavy

Hometown: Bradford

Killed in action: June 11, 1944

Group Burial: Plot R, 35-36
Fort McPherson National Cemetery, Maxwell, NB

Gudger's B-24 was on mission to Constanta, Rumania, oil storage facilities when it was downed by enemy fighters, with 6 KIA and 4 POWs.

Private Donald A. Gustafson

414th Infantry Regiment, 104th Infantry Division

Hometown: Port Allegany

Killed in action 17 November 1944, Germany
Age: 21

Buried: Plot A, Row 13, Grave 9
Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Belgium