Most people know Stones River National Cemetery only as a place that Union soldiers were buried. If their family history were supporters of the Confederacy, they often dismiss the opportunity to visit and learn about the cemetery and focus their attention on The Confederate Circle memorial at Evergreen Cemetery in Murfreesboro. But focusing attention on the Civil War means missing out on another important and significant burials within the walls of the cemetery.
Starting with Section P, veterans of foreign wars are buried in the remaining 800 or so graves in the national cemetery. Starting with veterans from the Civil War and the Spanish-American War all the way through soldiers that fought in Vietnam, these burials deserve the utmost respect. But intermixed with the headstones, are soldiers that died in the heat of combat or while on active duty. Although most were initially buried overseas, they are part of a Department of Defense program to move their graves to national cemeteries close to their homes.
Based on cemetery, military and genealogy resources, here is information about the soldiers dying on active duty and bringing the heroes home. If you know additional information or there is a hero who died in a war zone that was missed, please contact at [email protected].
William Shannon – Grave P-6139. Died during the Spanish-American War on January 29, 1900 on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.
Thomas Allen or Alley Baskin – Grave P-6192. Born August 2, 1917. Died on October 12. 1941 in Sitka, Alaska. Marine Private Baskin died in an explosion of twenty-one tons of dynamite at the Sitka Naval Station along with five other soldiers. All of the killed and wounded were members of firefighters battling a blaze in a warehouse holding the dynamite. Posthumously awarded the Navel Cross for heroism.
William Alfred Hale – Grave P-6200. Apprentice Seaman in the US Navy. Died on August 12, 1942 while on duty at the recruitment office in Cheyenne, Wyoming from a skull fracture.
Leonard (Lenard) Desmar Simmons – Grave P-6254. Born in Cannon County in 1924. Died on December 26, 1944. He was a Marine Private with the Signal Corps. Awarded a Purple Heart. Records indicate he died in Hawaii. Later reburied in 1947 at Stones River.
Herbert Blyth Reed – Grave P-6255. Born in Williamson County in 1913. Private in the US Army. Died in Germany on March 25, 1945. Stationed in Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium and Germany. Earned 3 stars, purple heart and 5 ribbons. Killed in battle after running over a mine. He was a member of a field artillery unit and a participant in D-Day.
Clifford Howard Capshaw – Grave P-6257. Born in Bedford County in 1924. Private in the US Army. Died on October 9, 1944. Killed in action at the Battle of the Bulge by a bullet to the throat, the same day his brother Clifton was captured.
John Thomas Smith – Grave P-6258. Born in 1924. Private in the US Army. Died on October 19,1944.
Parmer Ray Gunter – Grave P-6260. Born in 1922 in Cannon County, Tennessee. Private First Class in US Army in field artillery. Died on December 17, 1944 in Belgium, possibly in The Battle of the Bulge.
Joseph Moses Ross – Grave P-6262. Born on April 13, 1922 in Rutherford County, TN. Worked as a farm hand. Private in US Army. Died on January 23,1945, listed as killed in action.
William Clyde Ragland – Grave P-6264. Born in Smith County, Tennessee in 1919. Lived in Wilson County at time of enlistment working as a farm hand. Died March 24, 1945. Corporal in US Army. Killed in action in Europe.
William Thomas King – Grave P-6266. Born in Tullahoma, Coffee County in 1923. Worked in a shoe factory. Private in US Army. Died on July 30, 1944.
Thomas Houston Baskin, Jr. Grave P-6268. Born in Rutherford County in 1921. Died on November 25, 1944 in Germany. Died of bullet to thorax. Father served in both world wars and is also buried at Stones River, dying in 1955 while working as an orderly at VA Hospital in Murfreesboro.
Henry Murry Comer – Grave P-6270. Born in Tennessee. Prior to enlistment, worked in a defense factory in Detroit. Marine Hospital Apprentice 2md Class in the Navy. Killed in action on July 26, 1944 on the island of Guam. On this date, the Japanese forces of 5000 troops launched an all-out counter-attack against the US forces that landed on Guam. The attempt failed and the Guam beachhead was secured.
Leonard Bevner (Bevna) Bostick – Grave P-6271. Born in 1917 in Lincoln County, Tennessee. Worked on a farm. Private First Class in the Medical Department. Died on July 18, 1944.
Herbert Elson Cantrell – Grave P-6285. Born in 1925 and lived in Maury County, Tennessee. He was a Seaman 1st Class in the Navy. Muster rolls in 1943 show that he was deployed to the Belleau Woods, an aircraft carrier in the South Pacific. He died on February 29, 1944.
Leslie P Taylor – Grave P-6290. Born in 1920 and lived in Bedford County when he enlisted. He was a farm hand. He was a Private in the Army Infantry. Died on June 14, 1944.
Riley Wilbur Hayes – Grave P-6291. Born in 1923 in Cannon County, Tennessee. While stationed at Bougainville in the Philippines on March 11, 1944, the divisional headquarters came under artillery attack. Private Hayes was on duty in the post kitchen which took a direct hit from a shell. Private Hayes died later that day.
James Dallas Taylor – Grave P-6292. Born in 1922 in Rutherford County, Tennessee. Private in the 78th Division in the US Army. Suffered wounds on December 16, 1944 at Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany as the Germans broke through the lines. He died on December 24, 1944.
Ben Hooper Travis – Grave P-6293. Born in 1911 in Tennessee. Private in US Army assigned to the Tank Destroyer Forces. Died on September 19, 1944 from an artillery shell to the leg.
Ernest Brown Barnes – Grave P-6294. Born in 1906 in Williamson County, Tennessee. Prior to enlistment, he worked in his father’s garage and mercantile business in College Grove. Private in the US Army assigned to a tank division. Died on December 31, 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge, probably in Belgium.
Coy Herman Dunaway – Grave P-6295. Born in 1916 in Wilson County, Tennessee. At time of enlistment, was a farm hand near Lascassas. Private First Class in an Engineer Regiment. Died on January 2, 1944 in a hospital in England as the result of a motor vehicle accident. Hospital records show he was a passenger in a Jeep while on duty.
Claude Wilson Brennan - Grave P-6297. Born in 1916 in Rutherford County. Prior to enlistment, worked for the telephone company. Staff Sergeant in the Signal Corps. Died on May 5, 1945 in Manila, Philippines as the result of a traffic accident.
Walter Isaac Davenport – Grave P-6298. Born in Rutherford County in 1922. Died on April 17, 1945 in Germany during battle.
Willie Frank Kee – Grave P-6299. Born in Rutherford County about 1917. Joined the US Army in April 1940 before the start of World War II. At the time, he worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps in Georgia. Rose to the rank of Corporal and stayed with the Army after the war. Went missing in action in North Korea near the start of the conflict on December 1, 1950 and body was later located in 1956.
James Warren Woodward – Grave P-6301. Born in 1916 in Montana. Worked at pencil factory in Shelbyville, Tennessee. He was a private first class in the US Army. Died on March 19, 1945.
Robert K Smith – Grave P-6303. Born in 1925. He was a sergeant in an US Army bomb squad. Died on January 29, 1945.
Charles C Sneed – Grave P-6305. Born in 1922. Lived in Milton, Rutherford County, Tennessee. Volunteered for service in 1939. Gunnery Sergeant in the US Marines. Recipient of the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, American Defense Service, Asiatic and Pacific Medal and the Victory Medal. Died on November 14, 1943 during the battle of Bougainville in the Solomon Islands.
Oscar Welborn Thomas – Grave P-6307. Born in 1926 in Logan County, Kentucky. At time of registration, lived in Christian County, Kentucky. Private in the US Army. Died on April 30, 1945.
Frederick Noiel Holladay – Grave P-6312. Born in 1927 in Ohio and lived in Detroit prior to enlistment. Private First Class in the US Marines. Died on June 12, 1945 during the Battle of Okinawa.
John Earl Underwood – Grave P-6313. Private First Class in US Marines. Killed in action on March 9, 1945 in the Pacific Theater.
Thomas Jefferson “TJ” Mooneyham – Grave P-6317. Born in Lincoln County, Tennessee in 1920. Enlisted on April 7, 1942. Farmhand at time of enlistment. Assigned as a private in the Medical Department of US Army. Died on December 23, 1944 in Verviers, Liege, Belgium in one of the last days of the Battle of the Bulge. Died on active duty.
Johnny Van Buren Chesney – Grave P-6320. Born in Jackson, Tennessee and lived in Putnam County at time of draft registration. Private in US Army. Died on October 14, 1944. Killed in action.
John D Wright – Grave P-6321. Residence of Cannon County, Tennessee. Worked as a metal worker or tinsmith. Private First Class in US Army. Hit by bullet to the neck during action in the Solomon Islands. Died on August 4, 1943.
Andy Corden Johnson – Grave P-6341. Private in US Army forces. Died on October 4, 1951 in South Korea taking a strike from a missile.
Hoyte Ray Taylor– Grave P-6353. Born in 1925 in Rutherford County, Tennessee. Brother of James Dallas Taylor who died in World War II and buried in Grave P-6292. Employed at Carnation plant prior to entering US Army as a private. Killed in action in South Korea on April 25, 1951, the same date he was originally reported as missing in action. Body recovered in 1953.
Robert Kerry Jones – Grave P-6380. 1st Lieutenant in Air Force. Died on May 17, 1956 while on duty at Lowry AFB in Denver, Colorado.
Thomas Perry Revell – Grave P-6460-A. Born in 1926 in Rhea County, Tennessee. Worked in construction prior to enlistment. Served in World War II in the US Navy. Became a Technical Sergeant in the US Air Force. Killed on May 17, 1962 when his C-130 plane crashed in Nairobi. North Africa.
Malcolm Ray Cardwell – Grave P-6502. Born in 1935. Staff Sergeant in US Air Force. Died on May 6. 1964 at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida when the C-123 he was a passenger in crashed while practicing touch and go landings.
Harold Claude Jett – Grave P-6509. Born in 1937 in Ohio. Technical Sergeant in US Air Force. Died on active duty on December 10, 1964 in Cocoa, Florida when a plane he was in crashed on take-off from Patrick Air Force Base.
John H Smith – Grave Q-6511. Born on February 7, 1925. Private in the Quartermaster Corps. Died on active duty on September 11, 1944. At time of death, was assigned to the USAT Carroll Victory, a Merchant Marine ship assigned to bring livestock to Europe.
Shirley Mitchell – Grave Q-6518. Born in 1922 and resident of Rutherford Count, Tennessee. Records show he was a Sargeant First Class in US Army. Served in both World War II and Korea. Worked in Transportation Corps. Died in truck accident on September 3, 1950 in Korea.
Ethyl Burton Haynes – Grave Q-6519. Born on October 25, 1931 in Rutherford County, Tennessee. Joined when he was just seventeen years old. Private First Class in US Army. Killed in action on July 30, 1950 in South Korea. Shown as the first soldier from Rutherford County killed in Korean War.
Jimmie Lee Floyd – Grave Q-6559. Born about 1937 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and enlisted when he was only sixteen. Private First Class in the US Army. Died on August 11. 1955. He was among 66 paratroopers on two C-119’s that clipped wings over the Black Forest in Germany and both planes crashed.
Willie Paul Alsup – Grave Q-6607. Private in US Army. Shown as in the infantry school. Record shows died on active duty on February 17, 1964.
Mark A Babson Jr. – Grave Q-6634. Born in 1946 in Rutherford County, Tennessee. Captain in the US Army. Commanded a rotary wing aircraft that crashed on October 14, 1969 in Khanh Hoa Province in South Vietnam. Listed as missing in action. North Korea released a propaganda film in December of prisoners of war celebrating Christmas. His mother identified him in the film, but not his wife, which made news nationwide. However, the military eventually located the site of the crash and found his body in the plane.
John William Wilt, Jr. – Grave Q-6704. Born in 1946 West Virginia. Lived in Spring Hill, Tennessee. Lance Corporal in the US Marine Corps. Died on March 26, 1966 in South Vietnam. Killed in action by a gunshot in Quang Nam. Burial records show the body was moved in 1988 to Grafton, WV.
Larry Don Earls – Grave Q-6733. Born in 1938 in Rutherford County, Tennessee. Lived in Murfreesboro and worked for a newspaper. Lieutenant in the US Army and trained at Fort Campbell. Killed in action on January 2, 1967 by sniper fire in South Vietnam.
James “ Jimmy” L Russell – Grave Q-6737. Born in 1947. Sargeant in the US Army. Killed in action on April 23, 1967 in Vietnam.
William “Buddy” Grigsby Phillips – Grave Q-6751. Born in 1943 in Rutherford County. Went to Belmont College and was an ordained minister. Sargeant in US Army Special Forces as a medical specialist. Killed in action on August 3, 1967 by small arms fire in Vietnam. Awarded posthumously the Silver Star and Purple Heart. Citation stated that he distinguished himself as the commander of a Special Forces platoon on a reconnaissance mission near Ton Le Chon when they discovered a base camp of a North Vietnam company. He led his platoon into a weakness in the defense but was mortally wounded during the advance.
Ronald John Ensley, Jr -Q-6760. Born in 1958 in North Carolina. Resided in Rutherford County, Tennessee. Private First Class in US Army. Died on November 3, 1967 from knife wounds received while on nighttime perimeter defense in Vietnam.
Richard E Wade – Grave Q-6761. Resident of Rutherford County, Tennessee. Staff Sargeant in US Army serving ten years. Died in Vietnam on November 4, 1967 when his truck in a convoy had a collision.
Eugene Merrill Woodson III – Grave Q-6790. Born in 1945. Sargeant in US Army. Died on August 8, 1968 in a non-combat situation from either drowning or suffocation in South Vietnam. Possibly died while in missing status.
George D Osbourne – Grave Q-6795. Born in 1948. Resident of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Sargeant in US Army. Killed in action on October 4, 1968 in South Vietnam in Dinh Tuong Province from a gunshot.
James Clark Carlson – Grave Q-6801. Born in 1947 in Wisconsin. Lived in Murfreesboro, Tennessee attending MTSU. Private First Class as a medical specialist in the US Army. Died on 23 Nov 1968 in Tây Ninh, Vietnam from small arms fire.
Patrick Henry McBride – Grave Q-6837. Born in 1943 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 2nd Lieutenant in US Marines. Died on August 11, 1969 in Wildflecken, Germany when a tank overturned while on maneuvers.
Loyd Curtiss – Grave Q-6843. Born in 1931 in Bedford County, Tennessee. Staff Sergeant in US Army in both Korea and Vietnam. Died on October 9, 1969 in El Paso, Texas from disease while on active duty.
James Timothy Luscinski – Grave Q-6845. Born in 1939 as a native of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Residence of Murfreesboro in 1969. Captain in the US Army and was trained as a helicopter pilot in the 101st Airborne Division. Killed in action on October 8, 1969 in Quang Tri, Vietnam when his helicopter crashed. Was awarded a Distinguish Flying Cross, Silver Star and two Purple Hearts. The DFC was awarded for his actions in August providing suppressive fire and his helicopter was hit twice by enemy fire. After that emergency landing, he was able to secure the helicopter with his co-pilot until they were rescued. He was recognized for his gallantry during a search and rescue mission where he was killed by enemy fire while returning to his camp for refueling.
Billy Lee Miller – Grave Q-6846. Born in 1949 in Rutherford County, Tennessee. Private First Class in US Army. Killed in action in Binh Dinh, South Vietnam on October 5, 1969 from multiple fragment wounds.
Clyde James Bennett – Grave Q-6848. Born in 1931 in Mississippi. Home town was Auburn, Kentucky. Master Sergeant in US Air Force. In 1963, was part of the crew that flew a C-130 from Sewart Air Force Base around the world to demonstrate a new technique for air delivery of priority supplies. He is listed as the crew chief for the maintenance on-board staff. Died of a heart attack on October 30, 1969 in South Vietnam in the Gia Dinh Province, just fourteen days into his latest tour.
Robert Wilk(e)s Hanes Jr – Grave R-6924. Born in 1934 in Tennessee. AMH1 in the US Navy. Served in both Korea and Vietnam. Was in a patrol squadron. Killed in action on September 3, 1971 in Vietnam.
Henry L Jordan – Grave T-7084. Staff Sargeant in US Army. Died on February 23, 1973. Records show killed in action.