Each and Every
Nevada WWII Fallen
Is Now Remembered
Every WWII fallen from the state of Nevada now has a story -- from the youngest, 17 year old Lewis Milisich of Elko, to the oldest, Alfred Green, a 31 year old African American from Reno.
The first four Nevadans (Richard Gill, Richard Weaver, Elmer Yates, and Eric Young) died on the USS Arizona during the Pearl Harbor attack. The last one, Lyle Webb, died in August 1945 when the submarine USS Bullhead was sunk.
Nevadans fought and died in well-known battles from throughout the war including Bataan, Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal, Kasserine Pass, Sicily, Burma, Tarawa, Anzio, D-Day, Saipan, the Battle of the Bulge, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.
While some are buried or memorialized in Nevada, many are buried elsewhere, across the USA and around the world, from the Philippines' Cabanatuan Memorial and the Honolulu Memorial in the Pacific, to European cemeteries like the Ardennes American Cemetery in Luxembourg, and the Florence American Cemetery in Italy.
Now, thanks to the efforts of Richard Rife (who wrote 93% of the stories) and a few others, anyone visiting the graves of the Nevada WWII fallen can use a smartphone to read the stories of all of these fallen heroes, anywhere in the world.
See how the app works at any gravesite
Read some of these stories here:
1LT Norvin L. Davis
Story by Richard Rife
Lt Davis was from Wells, Nevada. He was a Boy Scout and president of his high school class. He was a 1943 West Point graduate. He served as a paratrooper in the liberation the Philippines and earned the Bronze Star. Read full story here.
CPL Leslie E. Mathews
Story by Richard Rife
Cpl Mathews was from Panaca, Nevada. His mother died when he was 11 and his father died shortly before the war. He was a championship basketball player. He became a B-24 Liberator radio operator in the Pacific. He was killed in a weather related plane crash. Read his story here.
ENS Frank W. O'Flaherty
Story by Richard Rife
Ens O'Flaherty was from Tonopah, Nevada. He was raised by an aunt after his mother died. He left college early to help support his family. He was a dive bomber pilot from USS Enterprise at the Battle of Midway. Read full story here, including his tragic death at the hands of the Japanese Navy.
PVT Ivan E. Ramsey
Story by Richard Rife
Pvt Ramsey was from Spring Valley, Nevada. Left school early to work in mines. Joined US Army with younger brother and served in same unit in the Philippines at the beginning of the war. Both earned the Bronze Star. See full story here, including Bataan Death March and time as POW.
SGT Lafayette L. Wadsworth
Story by Richard Rife
Sgt Wadsworth was also from Panaca and a cousin to Leslie Mathews. He was known as a good singer and dancer. Earned a battlefield promotion and the Bronze Star. We fought the the Battle of the Bulge. Read full story here, including fateful premonition of both him and his mother.
1LT Eldred F. Whipple
Story by Richard Rife
Lt Whipple was from Tecoma, Nevada, a mining community. He worked at a mine and married after attending college. He became a B-17 pilot. After bomber was fatally damaged, he stayed at the controls so other crewmen could bail safely. See full story here.
All of the Nevada fallen stories
can be found on Fold3.
See here.
Download the Find A Grave smartphone app to read these stories at gravesites
Thanks to our
volunteer story writers
Richard Rife, Project Lead
John Melde, Colorado
Don Milne, Kentucky
Mary Peterson, Minesota
Richard Rife, Utah
John Schlatter, Utah
Rona Simmons, Georgia
Susan Singleton, Illinois
Rhonda Steele, Colorado
Viki Strong, Utah
Les Wiesenfelder, Maryland
Anita Ashworth, Alabama
Pam Baker, Alabama
Molly Brown, Utah
Cara Clark, Nevada
Kim Crump, Utah
Susan Gould, Tennessee
LuAnn Greenwell, Utah
Bob Joyce, Florida
Gerry Lawton
Autumn McFarland, Arizona