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The Tennessee National Guard honored a World War II POW who was laid to rest July 15 at Mountain Home National Cemetery in Mountain Home, Tenn., following the identification of his remains nearly 74 years after his death.
U.S. Army Air Corps Pvt. Evans Overbey, a native of Wise County, Va., was a member of the 93rd Bomb Squadron, 19th Bomb Group during World War II. He died at the age of 25 on Nov. 19, 1942, at POW Camp Cabanatuan in Luzon, Philippines, after suffering from pellagra, a disease associated with niacin deficiency and malnutrition.
Overbey fought in the Battle of Bataan, was captured, survived the Bataan Death March, and participated in the Philippine Island Unit Campaign prior to being captured in the Philippines.
He was initially buried in Common Grave 717 at Camp Cabanatuan Cemetery. His remains were intermixed with 10 other Soldiers and were reclaimed by the U.S. at the close of World War II. At that time, the remains of all 10 Soldiers were interred in an unknown Soldiers’ grave in San Francisco, Calif.
During ongoing reclamation efforts, DNA testing recently connected Overbey’s remains to his family in Erwin. He was reinterred at his final resting place, Section UU, Site 14 at the cemetery near Johnson City, Tenn. Military honors, including a firing detail, were provided by the Tennessee Army National Guard; as well as a flyover provided by the Tennessee Air National Guard's 134th Air Refueling Wing, from Joint Base McGhee-Tyson in nearby Knoxville, Tenn.
Overbey was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Prisoner of War, American Defense Service with Foreign Service Clasp, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign with one Bronze Service Star and the World War II Victory Medals. He also received a Presidential Unit Citation with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, the Philippine Defense Ribbon with Bronze Service Star and the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation. His niece, Grace Erwin, accepted the awards on his behalf.
| Date Taken: | 07.22.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.22.2016 15:03 |
| Story ID: | 204756 |
| Location: | KNOXVILLE, TN, US |
| Web Views: | 35 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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