This is the first in a series of articles by the Committee for the Orange County Veterans Memorial regarding the World War Two (WW II). Remember our goal is to raise funds, so we can build the Orange County Veterans Memorial to honor those sons and daughters of Orange who died while defending our county and our liberties.
Donations, comments and suggestions can be mailed to P.O. Box 188, Orange, VA 22960. Or they also can be left at any of the Veteran’s organizations and they will be forwarded by the Memorial representative as each organization has one. Please make the donation checks payable to the Orange County Parks and Recreation Foundation with “Orange County Veterans Memorial” or “OCVM” in the memo line. For those who are tech-savvy, you can send comments and suggestions to our e-mail address, orangeveteransmemorial@gmail.com. And, we also have a website, www.orangeveteransmemorial.org, on which one may make a donation.
You will note for first WW II Veteran listed, Mr. Andrews, the date of death was not until March 1946. Yet, he is considered a WW II death and not a “peacetime” death. That is because Proclamation 2174 was issued by President Truman on Dec. 31, 1946, to declare the official end of hostilities in both theaters of WW II. The timing had nothing to do with Japanese holdouts, or anything like that, but with the status of American forces in Germany and other legal questions.
Finally, remember we want this memorial to be inclusive. As mentioned in earlier articles, we want your ideas and suggestions. You do not need to be a Veteran, or a member of a Veteran’s organization, to participate. All you need is a desire to help and let us know that. Give us an opportunity to find a way to get you involved. Our intent to have this memorial built is not to open old wounds or tear off scabs. Let the building of this memorial help bring us together. The intent of the monument is to honor the sacrifice of our fallen comrades, not harm anyone. If the
building of the monument does harm someone, we apologize. As previously mentioned, we believe this memorial needs to be a dedication to Orange’s sons or daughters who have made the supreme sacrifice, which allowed the rest of us to live in freedom.
| Name | Gender | Race | Branch of Service | Date of Death | |
| Andrews, William McKendree | Male | White | Army | 3/31/1946 | |
| Listed Residence | Company | Regiment | Rank | Cause of Death | Place of Death |
| Orange | Master Sergeant | Accident | Fort Knox, Ky | ||
Notes:Asphyxiated by gas; Residence: Bedford Co; Awarded American Defense Service Medal with one Bronze Star and Asiatic Pacific Theater Medal with Two Bronze Stars
| Name | Gender | Race | Branch of Service | Date of Death | |
| Beck, William Edwin | Male | White | Army | ||
| Listed Residence | Company | Regiment | Rank | Cause of Death | Place of Death |
| Gordonsville | Private 1st Class | Killed in Action | |||
| Name | Gender | Race | Branch of Service | Date of Death | |
| Breeden, General Lee | Male | White | Army | 2/2/1943 | |
| Listed Residence | Company | Regiment | Rank | Cause of Death | Place of Death |
| Gordonsville | Private 1st Class | Killed in Action | Italy | ||
| Name | Gender | Race | Branch of Service | Date of Death | |
| Bryant, Gordon Otto | Male | White | Army | 11/28/1944 | |
| Listed Residence | Company | Regiment | Rank | Cause of Death | Place of Death |
| Orange | Private 1st Class | Killed in Action | France | ||
Notes:Awarded Purple Hear
| Name | Gender | Race | Branch of Service | Date of Death | |
| Buck, David Q | Male | White | Army | ||
| Listed Residence | Company | Regiment | Rank | Cause of Death | Place of Death |
| Private 1st Class | Killed in Action | ||||
| Name | Gender | Race | Branch of Service | Date of Death | |
| Clatterbuck, William Randolph | Male | White | Army | 6/18/1944 | |
| Listed Residence | Company | Regiment | Rank | Cause of Death | Place of Death |
| Barboursville | 60th Infantry | Private 1st Class | Killed in Action | Normandy, France |
Notes:9th Infantry Division; Awarded Purple Heart; buried in US Military Cemetery Normandy, France
| Name | Gender | Race | Branch of Service | Date of Death | |
| Claude, David Keer | Male | White | Marine Corps | 11/22/1943 | |
| Listed Residence | Company | Regiment | Rank | Cause of Death | Place of Death |
| Orange | Lieutenant Colonel | KA/DW | Tarawa, Gilbert Islands |
Notes:2nd Marine Division; Awarded Silver Star Medal and Purple Hear
| Name | Gender | Race | Branch of Service | Date of Death | |
| Corbin, Roy Franklin | Male | White | Army | 7/11/1944 | |
| Listed Residence | Company | Regiment | Rank | Cause of Death | Place of Death |
| Orange | 38th Infantry | Private | Killed in Action | France |
Notes:2nd Infantry Division; Awarded Purple Heart; buried in US Military Cemetery Normandy, France
| Name | Gender | Race | Branch of Service | Date of Death | |
| Davis, Louis Sanford | Male | White | Army | 4/14/1945 | |
| Listed Residence | Company | Regiment | Rank | Cause of Death | Place of Death |
| Unionville | Private | Killed in Action | Germany |
| Name | Gender | Race | Branch of Service | Date of Death | |
| Davis, Robert L | Male | Army | 8/9/1944 | ||
| Listed Residence | Company | Regiment | Rank | Cause of Death | Place of Death |
| 60th Infantry | Private |
Notes:9th Infantry Division; buried in Maplewood Cemetery Gordonsville, Orange County
| Name | Gender | Race | Branch of Service | Date of Death | |
| Deane, Laurence Dare | Male | White | Navy Reserve | 5/20/1945 | |
| Listed Residence | Company | Regiment | Rank | Cause of Death | Place of Death |
| Orange | Pharmacist's Mate 3rd Class | Killed in Action | Okinawa |
Notes:05/02/1945?; 6th Marine Division
| Name | Gender | Race | Branch of Service | Date of Death | |
| Ellis, Russell Kenneth | Male | White | Army | 6/9/1944 | |
| Listed Residence | Company | Regiment | Rank | Cause of Death | Place of Death |
| Orange | 526th Ordnance | Maintenance Technician 5th Grade | Europe |
Notes:Missing?; Awarded Purple Heart
| Name | Gender | Race | Branch of Service | Date of Death | |
| Deane, Laurence Dare | Male | White | Navy Reserve | 5/20/1945 | |
| Listed Residence | Company | Regiment | Rank | Cause of Death | Place of Death |
| Orange | Pharmacist's Mate 3rd Class | Killed in Action | Okinawa |
Notes:05/02/1945?; 6th Marine Division
| Name | Gender | Race | Branch of Service | Date of Death | |
| Gilbert, Twyman Alfred | Male | White | Navy | 8/23/1943 | |
| Listed Residence | Company | Regiment | Rank | Cause of Death | Place of Death |
| Barboursville | USS Blue DD-387 | Gunner's Mate 2nd Class | KA/DW | Near Guadalcanal |
Notes:Gunner's Mate 3rd Class?; Missing; 08/22/1942 or 08/23/1942; Residence: Greene Co?; Awarded Purple Heart
| Name | Gender | Race | Branch of Service | Date of Death | |
| Gipson, Clifton Lee | Male | White | Army | 3/25/1945 | |
| Listed Residence | Company | Regiment | Rank | Cause of Death | Place of Death |
| Madison Run | Sergeant | Killed in Action | Geisbach, Germany |
Notes:Brother of Thomas Ellis Gipson; Awarded Purple Heart
| Name | Gender | Race | Branch of Service | Date of Death | |
| Gipson, Thomas Ellis | Male | White | Army | 8/10/1944 | |
| Listed Residence | Company | Regiment | Rank | Cause of Death | Place of Death |
| Madison Run | Private 1st Class | Killed in Action | France |
Notes:Brother of Clifton Lee Gipson; Awarded Purple Heart; Buried in U.S. Military Cemetery Marigne France #1, Plot 1, Row 5, Grave 99; Co G 47th Infantry 9th Div
