There is cenotaph for John in Emporia, Kansas, FAG #179135993.
Entered the service from Kansas.
*****************************
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today [March 25, 2024] that U.S. Army Sergeant John O. Herrick, 19, of Emporia, Kansas, killed during World War II, was accounted for Aug. 21, 2023.
In June 1944, Herrick was assigned to Company B, 149th Engineer Combat Battalion in the European Theater. On June 6, "D-Day", Herrick was aboard Landing Craft Infantry (Large) 92, along with roughly 200 other servicemembers, enroute to land on Omaha Beach, in Normandy, France. As LCI-92 steamed toward the shore, it struck an underwater mine which caused the craft to burst into flames. The craft was also hit by enemy artillery fire, causing an explosion that ignited the ships fuel stores and instantly killed everyone in the troop compartment. Due to the urgency of the situation, it was impossible for others to search for survivors. Herrick's remains were not accounted for after the war.
Around June 10, members of the 500th Medical Collecting Company examined the wreckage of LCI-92 and noted the burnt remains of servicemen in the troop compartment, where Herrick and others were last seen. American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, removed small amounts of remains from LCI-92 and buried them in the United States Military Cemetery (USMC) St. Laurent-sur-Mer.
Beginning in 1946, AGRC analyzed the remains found in LCI-92, segregating them into four separate Unknowns (X-53, X-83, X-83B, and X-83C). Despite their efforts, AGRC were unable to identify the Unknowns at the time and they were interred in Normandy American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Normandy, France.
In June and August 2021, the Department of Defense and ABMC officials exhumed the comingled remains of the four Unknowns and transferred them to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis.
To identify Herrick's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Herrick's name is permanently recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Sgt. Herrick will be buried November 11, 2024, in Emporia, Kansas.
*****************************
The Emporia Gazette, 24 Jun 1944, Saturday
D-DAY CASUALTIES INCLUDED FOUR BUSHONG BOYS, TWO OF THEM BROTHERS
The consequences of D-Day and the Allied Invasion of France struck hard at Bushong, (Pop. 81), Friday when parents of four graduates of the small town's rural high school received War department notices that their sons have been missing in action since June 6.
The missing men, all members of the same army engineers division, are Staff Sgt. Billy Moreland, 19, and Sgt. Jay Moreland, 21, brothers; Sgt. John Herrick and Pvt. Rex Gore, 19 years old.
All the missing Bushong men enlisted in the army early in 1943 and were trained in southern states. They had been stationed in England since January 1944.
The Moreland brothers are sons of Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Moreland, who live three miles southeast of Bushong. Mr. Moreland is a member of the Bushong High school board.
Pvt. Rex Gore, is a son of Prin. and Mrs. A. G. Gore, of the Dunlap High school. Mr. Gore formerly was principal of the Bushong High school, when all four of the missing men attended.
Sgt. John Herrick is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Herrick of Clinton, Tenn., who formerly lived on a farm southwest of Bushong. Sergeant Herrick's brother, Carl Herrick Jr., lives near Bushong. Sergeant Herrick (who) attended the Emporia High school one year is a nephew of Mr. and Mrs. John Willey, 428 Sylvan. Another brother, Bill Herrick, is stationed in England. A sister of Sergeant Herrick, Mrs. Gene Parsons, lives in Clinton, Mo.
The casualties of D-Day included three boys in the 1942 senior class of Bushong High school, Staff Sergeant Moreland, Sergeant Herrick and Private Gore.
Sergeant Jay Moreland was graduated from the Bushong High school in 1941.
Bushong, located in northwest Lyon county has a population of 81 persons.
The Moreland brothers attended the De Baun rural school and Gore and Herrick attended the Bushong grade school.
Following their attendance at the Bushong High school, the missing army engineers, before entering the service, worked in the community at various jobs. Sergeant Herrick was employed at the Bushong elevator. Private Gore worked at the Marsh Service station. Sergeant Jay Moreland was employed at a Wichita aircraft plant.
*****************************
The Emporia Gazette, 27 Jan 1944, Tuesday
GORE IS EIGHTH DUNLAP CASUALTY
SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE:
Dunlap, June 27--Pvt. Rex Arthur Gore, 20, reported missing since June 6, the D-Day invasion of France, is the eighth Dunlap man reported missing, or who has died in the present war. Private Gore is a son of Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Gore of Dunlap. Private Gore, who was graduated from the Bushong schools, was one of four high school graduates there all of whom have been reported as missing in the invasion by the war department.
Private Gore enlisted in the army February 26, 1943. He and his Bushong classmates, Jay and William Moreland and John Herrick, took their training in southern states and has been overseas since January in an engineering division.
Rex Arthur Gore was born at Enterprise, February 17, 1924. The Gore family moved to Dunlap in 1935. Private Gore's father, A. G. Gore, principal of the Dunlap High school, was principal at Bushong when Rex attended school there, and was graduated in 1942.
Other relative(s) of Private Gore included two brothers, T. Sgt. Wayne Gore, of the Winfield air base, and Lyman Gore, Schenectady, N. Y.; two sisters, Mrs. Margaret Hensley, of San Diego, Calif., and Mrs. Rowena Morris, of the home.
*****************************************
The Emporia Gazette, 20 Dec 1944, Wednesday
SIX GOLD STARS NOW IN BUSHONG SERVICE FLAG
SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE:
Bushong, Dec. 20--News was received from the War department by Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Moreland that their second son, Sgt. Jay Moreland, was killed in action. They had been notified last summer that Sergeant Moreland along with his younger brother, S-Sgt. William Wright Moreland, was missing in action in France on D-Day. A few days later the Morelands received another message that Sergeant William Moreland was killed on D-Day. At the same time, two other Bushong boys, Pvt. Rex Gore, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Gore, of Dunlap, and Sgt. Johnny Herrick, son of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Herrick, Sr., who were members of the same army engineers' combat division, were also missing in action, and last night word came to Bushong from the War department to Mr. and Mrs. Gore that Pvt. Rex Gore had officially been reported killed.
These four boys are all graduates of the Bushong Rural high school, and the two Moreland boys were born and grew up in the DeBaun community southeast of town. Private Gore lived in Bushong with his parents for nearly eight years while his father was principal of the Bushong high school. Sergeant Herrick lived in the Sunnyside community southwest of town for a few years before enlisting in the Army. The four boys enlisted about two years ago, and went overseas about a year ago.
These casualties make six gold stars on the Bushong service flag. The other three are Arthur Plumb, Morris Davis and Arlie Still. Plumb lost his life in the Aleutians; Morris Davis, at a camp in the United States when his plane was wrecked, and Arlie still was killed in Italy.
There is cenotaph for John in Emporia, Kansas, FAG #179135993.
Entered the service from Kansas.
*****************************
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today [March 25, 2024] that U.S. Army Sergeant John O. Herrick, 19, of Emporia, Kansas, killed during World War II, was accounted for Aug. 21, 2023.
In June 1944, Herrick was assigned to Company B, 149th Engineer Combat Battalion in the European Theater. On June 6, "D-Day", Herrick was aboard Landing Craft Infantry (Large) 92, along with roughly 200 other servicemembers, enroute to land on Omaha Beach, in Normandy, France. As LCI-92 steamed toward the shore, it struck an underwater mine which caused the craft to burst into flames. The craft was also hit by enemy artillery fire, causing an explosion that ignited the ships fuel stores and instantly killed everyone in the troop compartment. Due to the urgency of the situation, it was impossible for others to search for survivors. Herrick's remains were not accounted for after the war.
Around June 10, members of the 500th Medical Collecting Company examined the wreckage of LCI-92 and noted the burnt remains of servicemen in the troop compartment, where Herrick and others were last seen. American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, removed small amounts of remains from LCI-92 and buried them in the United States Military Cemetery (USMC) St. Laurent-sur-Mer.
Beginning in 1946, AGRC analyzed the remains found in LCI-92, segregating them into four separate Unknowns (X-53, X-83, X-83B, and X-83C). Despite their efforts, AGRC were unable to identify the Unknowns at the time and they were interred in Normandy American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Normandy, France.
In June and August 2021, the Department of Defense and ABMC officials exhumed the comingled remains of the four Unknowns and transferred them to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis.
To identify Herrick's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Herrick's name is permanently recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Sgt. Herrick will be buried November 11, 2024, in Emporia, Kansas.
*****************************
The Emporia Gazette, 24 Jun 1944, Saturday
D-DAY CASUALTIES INCLUDED FOUR BUSHONG BOYS, TWO OF THEM BROTHERS
The consequences of D-Day and the Allied Invasion of France struck hard at Bushong, (Pop. 81), Friday when parents of four graduates of the small town's rural high school received War department notices that their sons have been missing in action since June 6.
The missing men, all members of the same army engineers division, are Staff Sgt. Billy Moreland, 19, and Sgt. Jay Moreland, 21, brothers; Sgt. John Herrick and Pvt. Rex Gore, 19 years old.
All the missing Bushong men enlisted in the army early in 1943 and were trained in southern states. They had been stationed in England since January 1944.
The Moreland brothers are sons of Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Moreland, who live three miles southeast of Bushong. Mr. Moreland is a member of the Bushong High school board.
Pvt. Rex Gore, is a son of Prin. and Mrs. A. G. Gore, of the Dunlap High school. Mr. Gore formerly was principal of the Bushong High school, when all four of the missing men attended.
Sgt. John Herrick is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Herrick of Clinton, Tenn., who formerly lived on a farm southwest of Bushong. Sergeant Herrick's brother, Carl Herrick Jr., lives near Bushong. Sergeant Herrick (who) attended the Emporia High school one year is a nephew of Mr. and Mrs. John Willey, 428 Sylvan. Another brother, Bill Herrick, is stationed in England. A sister of Sergeant Herrick, Mrs. Gene Parsons, lives in Clinton, Mo.
The casualties of D-Day included three boys in the 1942 senior class of Bushong High school, Staff Sergeant Moreland, Sergeant Herrick and Private Gore.
Sergeant Jay Moreland was graduated from the Bushong High school in 1941.
Bushong, located in northwest Lyon county has a population of 81 persons.
The Moreland brothers attended the De Baun rural school and Gore and Herrick attended the Bushong grade school.
Following their attendance at the Bushong High school, the missing army engineers, before entering the service, worked in the community at various jobs. Sergeant Herrick was employed at the Bushong elevator. Private Gore worked at the Marsh Service station. Sergeant Jay Moreland was employed at a Wichita aircraft plant.
*****************************
The Emporia Gazette, 27 Jan 1944, Tuesday
GORE IS EIGHTH DUNLAP CASUALTY
SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE:
Dunlap, June 27--Pvt. Rex Arthur Gore, 20, reported missing since June 6, the D-Day invasion of France, is the eighth Dunlap man reported missing, or who has died in the present war. Private Gore is a son of Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Gore of Dunlap. Private Gore, who was graduated from the Bushong schools, was one of four high school graduates there all of whom have been reported as missing in the invasion by the war department.
Private Gore enlisted in the army February 26, 1943. He and his Bushong classmates, Jay and William Moreland and John Herrick, took their training in southern states and has been overseas since January in an engineering division.
Rex Arthur Gore was born at Enterprise, February 17, 1924. The Gore family moved to Dunlap in 1935. Private Gore's father, A. G. Gore, principal of the Dunlap High school, was principal at Bushong when Rex attended school there, and was graduated in 1942.
Other relative(s) of Private Gore included two brothers, T. Sgt. Wayne Gore, of the Winfield air base, and Lyman Gore, Schenectady, N. Y.; two sisters, Mrs. Margaret Hensley, of San Diego, Calif., and Mrs. Rowena Morris, of the home.
*****************************************
The Emporia Gazette, 20 Dec 1944, Wednesday
SIX GOLD STARS NOW IN BUSHONG SERVICE FLAG
SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE:
Bushong, Dec. 20--News was received from the War department by Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Moreland that their second son, Sgt. Jay Moreland, was killed in action. They had been notified last summer that Sergeant Moreland along with his younger brother, S-Sgt. William Wright Moreland, was missing in action in France on D-Day. A few days later the Morelands received another message that Sergeant William Moreland was killed on D-Day. At the same time, two other Bushong boys, Pvt. Rex Gore, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Gore, of Dunlap, and Sgt. Johnny Herrick, son of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Herrick, Sr., who were members of the same army engineers' combat division, were also missing in action, and last night word came to Bushong from the War department to Mr. and Mrs. Gore that Pvt. Rex Gore had officially been reported killed.
These four boys are all graduates of the Bushong Rural high school, and the two Moreland boys were born and grew up in the DeBaun community southeast of town. Private Gore lived in Bushong with his parents for nearly eight years while his father was principal of the Bushong high school. Sergeant Herrick lived in the Sunnyside community southwest of town for a few years before enlisting in the Army. The four boys enlisted about two years ago, and went overseas about a year ago.
These casualties make six gold stars on the Bushong service flag. The other three are Arthur Plumb, Morris Davis and Arlie Still. Plumb lost his life in the Aleutians; Morris Davis, at a camp in the United States when his plane was wrecked, and Arlie still was killed in Italy.
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