Portraits of 6 fallen warriors to be added to courthouse hallway on June 6

May 23, 2022 | by Tim Wyatt

The North Texas Fallen Warrior Portrait Project will present the portraits of six Collin County men who died while in the service of our country in a ceremony at 11 a.m. onMonday, June 6, 2022, at the Russell A. Steindam Courts Building. The portraits will be added to the 75 already displayed in the "Hall of Heroes" on the first floor hallways of the courthouse.

The newest portraits include:

SMITH, JASPER T. Age 25, from Blue Ridge. U.S. Army Air Corps, Tech/Sgt. Radio Technician with 702nd Bomb Squadron. Killed-in-Action April 1, 1944, after a bombing mission, when his heavily damaged plane went down near the village of Long Stratton, a few miles short of his home base of Tibbenham, Norfolk England. He was one of six crewmembers who died. He was reburied at Pecan Grove Cemetery in McKinney in 1948.

DERRYBERRY, JERRAL W. Age 23, Frisco. McKinney High School class of 1937. U.S. Army Air Corps, Captain, Pilot of B-17 Flying Fortress, 391st Bomber Squadron, 34th Air Group. Saw action over North Africa. Killed in a B-24 crash June 12, 1943, two miles west of Soledad, Calif. Had a wife and was the brother of Lee Derryberry. Buried at Pecan Grove Cemetery, McKinney.

DERRYBERRY, LEE HAROLD. Age 22, Frisco. McKinney High School class of 1938. U.S. Army, Corporal, Troop A, 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry pision. Wounded at Los Negros in the Pacific. Killed-in-action on Nov. 29, 1944, on Leyte Island in the Philippines and was buried there. In September 1948 his body was returned to McKinney and reburied at Pecan Grove Cemetery. The brother of Jerral Derryberry.

ANDERSON, GUYNN L. Age 19, McKinney High School class of 1942. U.S. Navy, Coxswain. Killed-in-action while serving on the U.S.S. Franklin CV-13. On March 19, 1945, the Franklin was the closest ship to the Japanese mainland securing a position 50 miles from Japan to launch strike missions. While on station the ship was struck by a single Japanese bomber plane in a Kamikaze attack, killing 807 of her crew and wounding an additional 487. The U.S.S. Franklin had the highest number of casualties of any warship that survived in WWII and was second only to the U.S.S. Arizona that was sunk at Pearl Harbor. Name listed on Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial. Missing in action; buried at sea.

RODGERS, MARTIN LEROY. Age 18, Prosper, McKinney High School. U.S. Army, Specialist 4. Helicopter Crewman. D Troop, 3rd Squadron, 5th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 1st Aviation Brigade, known as "Lighthorse". Killed July 26, 1970, when his helicopter went down in the Mekong River. He drowned while waiting for rescue. Youngest Army helicopter crewman to die in Vietnam. Buried at Ridgeview Memorial Park, Allen.

LACY, HOWELL LLOYD (BUD). Age 23, Altoga, McKinney. U.S. Army, Tech/Sgt. 23rd Infantry, 2nd Infantry pision. Landed on Normandy on D-Day. Killed-in-action on July 13, 1944, in France. Buried at Restland Memorial Park, Dallas.