Pfc Herbert E. Ferguson, 20, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bonnie Ferguson of Hamburg, was included in the Arkansas Department report of those killed in action in the Central Pacific Area in the last week of September, 1944. He was killed August 5, 1944, while giving first aid to wounded men on the battlefield. He was inducted on February 25, 1943. He had been recommended for the Silver Star for his heroism in the Saipan Island campaign.
Albert Firestone
Pfc. Albert C. Firestone served with the 383 Infantry, 96 Division. He was killed on April 9, 1945, and is listed as buried, with his name on the memorial at Honolulu, Hawaii. He received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster. A native of Ashley County, he enlisted on October 3, 1942, in Shreveport, LA. He was single with dependants, and his enlistment records indicate that he had been a geographer in civilian life.
Samuel Arthur Fleming
Pfc. Samuel A. Fleming, 19, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Fleming of near Montrose, was killed in action in Italy on April 15, 1945, about three months after he arrived overseas. He graduated from Lake Village High School and entered the Army June 9, 1944. He trained at Camp Wolters, Texas, Fort Jackson, SC, and Camp Swift, TX, serving with the Mountain Infantry in Italy.
A memorial service was held at the Montrose Baptist Church, where he was a member, on June 17, 1945. Pfc. Fleming's awards included the Bronze Star. He was initially buried in Italy but his remains were later returned for burial at Snyder. The Montrose Veterans of Foreign Wars named their post the Arthur Fleming Post in his honor .He was single with no dependants. Born in 1925, he enlisted at Camp Joseph T. Robinson in Little Rock.
Emory O. Garner
Pvt. Emory O. Garner, 25, of Company L, 55th Quartermaster Corps on leave from Fort Bliss, Texas, was killed near Crossett at 1 a.m., Sunday morning, December 28, 1942, when his car turned over on a curve, breaking his neck. Pvt. Garner was home for the holidays and was to return to Fort Bliss that day. He was to have been married to Miss Dorothy Laney. The marriage license, issued the Friday before his death, was found in his pocket. The car belonged to Garner's father. He was survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Garner of Rawls, near Hamburg; three brothers, Leon and Leroy of Rawls and Vester Garner of Crossett; three sisters, Ozeal, Doris and Billie Jo, all of Rawls; and his grandmother, Mrs. Ida Garner of Rawls. Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Sunday, December 29, at the Hickory Grove church.
Tommie Gibbs
Enlistment records indicate that Tommie Gibbs was born in 1920 in Ashley County. He enlisted in Little Rock on August 25, 1942. He was listed as single with dependants. On the original plaque on the flagpole base on the courthouse square, his name is spelled "Gibs" and he is included in the "colored" soldiers.
Billy Ned Grant
Pfc Billy Ned Grant, 26, was killed in action in late June or early July, 1944, at Yakumal, New Guinea, in the Southwest Pacific Area.
The son of William T. Grant of Hamburg, he volunteered in January, 1942, and was inducted at Camp Joseph T. Robinson. He went to basic training at Camp Roberts, CA, and went overseas on April 18, 1942. He served 26 months in Australia and New Guinea and was killed in his third major battle.
He was born in Crossett on September 10, 1918, and attended the Crossett schools. He was first reported missing in July "in the Southwest Pacific area." He was a farmer before he was inducted. His unit, Co. C, 128 Infantry, 32 Infantry Division, went to Australia, and he saw action in three major battles. In 27 months of overseas service, he earned the Bronze Star, the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon with three Battle Stars and the Order of the Purple Heart (posthumously). He is listed as missing in action or buried at sea on the Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines. His listing was later changed to missing with a presumed death date of September 1, 1944.
Jesse James Gray
Staff Sergeant Jesse Gray, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jim T. Gray of Route 2, Crossett, was killed in action on April 6, 1945, on Okinawa in the Pacific Theater of Operations. He attended the Crossett and Portland public schools and farmed and worked at the Crossett paper mill before his induction in the Army on October 15, 1942. He completed basic infantry training at Camp Adair, Oregon, and earned awards for driving and marksmanship.
On July 24, 1944, he sailed with his unit, the 382 Infantry Regiment, 96 Infantry Division, for the South Pacific and took part in the fighting in Leyte and Okinawa until he was killed on Okinawa on April 6, 1945. He was awarded the Bronze Star, the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon with Battle Stars, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, and the Order of the Purple Heart. A memorial service was held at the Mount Olive #2 Baptist Church on Sunday, June 24, 1945. He is listed as missing in action or buried at sea on the Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii.
William Mack Greeson
Sgt Billy M. Greeson, son of Mrs. David Peter (Fannie Isora Miller) Greeson was one of nine siblings with four brothers (Billy, David P, John and Fred) serving in World War II at the same time. He was a graduate of Hamburg High School and attended Monticello A&M and the University of Arkansas. He entered the Army Air Corps in January, 1941.
Trained at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, and Bangor, Maine, he served overseas in Australia and New Guinea. He was killed in action June 12, 1943, in New Guinea while serving with the 64 Bomber Squadron, 43 Bomb Group (Heavy) and is interred overseas. Memorial services were held Sunday, June 27, at the Baptist Church. He was born February 1, 1918, and lived in Hamburg most of his life. After going abroad in 1942, he was stationed with General McArthur's headquarters in Australia and later in New Guinea. His name is listed on the Honolulu Memorial at Honolulu, Hawaii. He was single with no dependants when he enlisted. His enlistment papers classified his occupation as “engine man.”
James Alfred Gulledge
Pfc James A. Gulledge, son of Mr. and Mrs. A.H. Gulledge, of Route 4, Hamburg, a graduate of Hamburg High School and then a student at Monticello A&M, entered the Marines in February, 1943, and sailed for overseas in June, 1943. Trained at Camp Elliott and Camp Pendleton, California, he served overseas in the South Pacific.
He was awarded the Purple Heart and three major Battle Stars. Killed in action April 22, 1945 on Okinawa when he was 21 years old, he had brown eyes and black hair. He was the son of Mrs. and Mrs. A. H. Gulledge of Hamburg. His brother, Noble F. Gulledge, was serving with the Marines in the Pacific.
Robert F. Harbison
The enlistment records for Robert F. Harbison, Jr., indicate that he was a native of Louisiana, but enlisted in Arkansas on June 2, 1942, in Union County. He had four years of college and his civilian occupation had been as an oboe player in a band and automobile parts clerk. No information was found as to the circumstances of his death. He was born in 1912.
A. W. Harriman, Jr.
Staff Sgt A.W. Harriman, 22, son of Nan Jo Hoy, a graduate of Hamburg High School and Henderson College, entered the Army Air Corps in October, 1942. He trained at Foster Field, Texas, Ground Mechanics School, Goldsburg, North Carolina, and gunner's school at Fort Myers, Florida, and also trained at Barksdale Field in Shreveport, LA, and in Ireland. He left for overseas in May, 1944, and his unit helped to destroy Brest in France while they were stationed in England. He then transferred to France in September, 1944.
An engineer and turret gunner on a B-26 Marauder with the Ninth Air Force, he served overseas in Iceland, Ireland, Scotland, England and France. He was awarded the Air Medal with five Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart. He had completed 30 missions as of December 16, 1944. First listed as missing and then killed in action January 1, 1945, in Germany, he had completed 35 missions with the Ninth Air Force when he was reported missing. On January 3, 1946, in a ceremony at Selman Field in Monroe, Mrs. Hoy received the Air Medal with a Silver Oak Leaf Cluster on behalf of her son.
Born in 1920, he completed four years of high school. His enlistment records indicate he had been a physical therapy technician or chain store manager in civilian life. He was single with no dependants. He served with the 451 Bomber Squadron, 322 Bomber Group, (Medium). He is buried at Plot H, Row 10, Grave 8, in the Luxembourg American Cemetery in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
In May, 1946, local VFW Post 4509 changed its name to the Spivey-Harriman Post No. 4509 in honor of James Spivey and A. W. Harriman.
Phillip S. Herron, Jr.
A flight battery commander, Sgt. Phillip S. Herron, Jr., was killed in action on July 6, 1944, in Normandy. He enlisted in 1941 and was the brother of Mrs. Lane Blanks. Sgt. Herron served in the 14 Liaison Squadron. He is buried at Plot B, Row 2, Grave 25, at the Cambridge American Cemetery in Cambridge, England. His enlistment records indicate he was born in 1923 and enlisted in the Army Air Corps on May 27, 1942. He had completed four years of high school and worked as an addressing or embossing machine operator and general clerk in civilian life. He was single with no dependants.
Frank Anthony Herlevic
T-Sgt Frank A. Herlevic, son of Mr. and Mrs. Anton Herlevic of Hamburg and a graduate of Woodlawn School, entered the Army Air Corps in April, 1941. He trained at Biggs Field, Texas, Lowery Field, Colorado, Davis Mt. Field, Arizona, and San Diego, California, before serving overseas in England.
He was awarded the Purple Heart, Army Star and Service Cross. He was wounded in raids on the Ploesti oil fields in Romania on August 1, 1944, and died three days later. Part of his training included aviation mechanics at Sheppard Field, TX. His brother, Pete Herlevic, died in North Africa a year earlier. Frank Herlevic is buried at the Hogue Cemetery. His Purple Heart was presented to his mother in a ceremony at the Ashley County Courthouse on December 11, 1944. On February 23, 1945, Mrs. Helevic was the guest of honor at a graduation ceremony for Army air pilots at Selman Field in Monroe, LA, where she was presented the Air Medal that her son had won.
Pete Herlevic
Staff Sgt Pete J. Herlevic, 40, son of Mr. and Mrs. Anton Herlevic of Hamburg, attended Woodlawn School. He entered the Army in March, 1927. Trained at Louisville, Kentucky, he served overseas in Hawaii, North Africa and England. He was awarded the Army Star, Service Cross and Purple Heart. He was killed in action on May 6, 1943, in North Africa while serving with the 13th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division. His brother, Frank Herelevic, died in action in Romania a year later. Memorial services were at the Beech Creek Baptist Church on Sunday, June 29, 1943, with the Roy Gardner American Legion post in charge. Pete Herlevic served with the 13 Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division. He is buried at Plot E, Row 21, Grave 4, at the North Africa American Cemetery in Carthage, Tunisia.
Grover W. Hill
Cpl. Grover W. Hill, 26, of Crossett, son of Mrs. D. L. Mask and Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland Hill, was a graduate of Portland High School and entered the Army in 1938. He trained at Barksdale Field, Louisiana; Pendleton, Oregon’ and Denver, Colorado; and left for overseas duty in October, 1942. He served overseas in England and North Africa. Awarded the Purple Heart, he was initially listed as missing in action on May 12, 1944, over Italy with that designation later changed to killed in action.
Stationed somewhere in Sardinia, he had been a staff sergeant before being “busted” for refusing to tell on his buddies who had violated regulations. He had earned the Air Medal with five Oak Leaf Clusters more than a year before he was killed. He served as a bombardier-navigator in a B-26 Marauder Wing, with the 438 Bomber Squadron, 319 Bomber Group (Medium), 12th Air Group and was a member of the Sardis Church. He is noted as missing in action or buried at sea on the Tablets of the Missing at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Nettuno, Italy.
His final awards included the Soldier's Medal and Air Medal with 11 Oak Leaf Clusters. At the time of his death, his family was living in Riverton, Wyoming, to be near his wife's parents. He and his wife, who he met while stationed in Denver, had two children, William David and Jeanette, who was born after he left for overseas. He served as bombardier on more than 30 missions in the B-26 Marauder, but his mother believed that he had flown over 80 missions in all.
According to a memoir from a fellow airman, Cpl. Hill died while on one of four twelve-ship missions against German troop concentrations near Fondi, Italy. Hill's was one of two planes shot down. Hank Mion, the pilot of one of the other aircraft in the raid, wrote, "We are lucky to be alive. This was the roughest mission I have yet to be on. We went after the 15th Panzer grenadiers encampment with air burst bombs… We went in by flights of six and each flight going in at 10 minute intervals and at 12,500 feet absolute… When we went in the ship on my left wing got a direct hit that went up and through the cockpit and apparently killed everyone… we could see the cockpit was full of smoke… our tail gunner Latzke said he saw six parachutes which means that two men didn't get out. One I found later was Capt. Ratliff, whom I had flown with several times and Grover Hill the bombardier. The bombardier doesn't stand a chance cause there is no way for him to wear a parachute in the nose. If he did he could not get out of the nose. What a day. I'm ready to go home," Pilot Hank Mion.
Arleigh Honeycutt
Second Lt. Arleigh C. Honeycutt, 21, was born March 5, 1923, son of John Carroll and Amy Dell Witt Honeycutt of Route 5, Hamburg. A graduate of Hamburg High School, he entered the Army Air Corps July 24, 1941, trained at Lowery Field, Colorado, and won his wings as a pilot at Roswell, New Mexico, in March, 1943, commissioned as a second lieutenant at age 20.
He was the pilot of a Flying Fortress. He served overseas in the European Theatre. His awards included the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Purple Heart. He was listed as missing with that designation later changed to killed in action February 22, 1944, over the Adriatic Sea off the east central coast of Italy. His B-17 bomber left Southern Italy on a bombing mission to Regensburg, Germany, and during the mission, his bomber, which appeared to be damaged, was seen to fall into the water. The plane had nine crew members and other planes saw eight parachutes. He served with the 429 Bomber Squadron, 2 Bomber Group (Heavy) and is listed as missing in action or buried at sea on the Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery, Florence, Italy.
He had four years of high school, worked as a automobile serviceman in civilian life and was single with no dependants when he enlisted.
Richard A. Hopkins
Richard Amos Hopkins was a private first class in the U. S. Marine Corps. He died 7 July 1944 and is buried at Plot C, Row 0, Grave 513 at the Honolulu Memorial in Hawaii. He received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He is listed on the new veterans memorial, but is not listed on the plaque on the old flagpole base in the square in Hamburg.
Rex L. Horn
Cpl. Rex L. Horn, 27, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Horn of Montrose, attended Portland High School and went to college for two years at Magnolia A&M. He entered the Army Air Corps in 1940 and trained at Las Vegas, Nevada, and Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. He died March 3, 1942, in an automobile accident at Las Vegas, Nevada. He served as a gunnery instructor at the gunnery school squadron. Corporal Horn, who enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps at Ft. Devens, Massachusetts, was a 1938 graduate of Hamburg High School and was a tree specialist in civilian life. His remains were returned to Hamburg by train, and he was buried at the Promise Land Cemetery.
He was apparently the second man from Ashley County killed after Pearl Harbor, according to the Ashley County Leader of February 19 and March 12, 1942. He was single with no dependants and had also worked as a job analyst or employment interviewer according to his enlistment records.
Solon Humphreys, Jr.
Lt. Solon Humpreys of Little Rock, grandson of Mrs. Tom Pugh of Portland and a nephew of Felix Pugh of Portland, died when the P-37 Thunderbolt fighter he was flying crashed at Richmond, VA, in late February, 1944. A graduate of North Little Rock High School, he attended the University of Arkansas before enlisting in the Army Air Forces on February 8, 1943. He received his pilot's wings on December 5, 1943.
