In Memoriam

[Grace]

7 June 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Spc. Brendan P. Neenan, 21, of Enterprise, Ala., died June 7 at Jelawar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

4 June 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. Steve M. Theobald, 53, of Goose Creek, S.C., died June 4 near Kuwait City, Kuwait, of injuries sustained in a military vehicle roll-over. He was assigned to the 287th Transportation Company, Livingston, Ala.

[Grace]

8 June 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two Marines who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

The following Marines died June 8 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan:

Sgt. Derek L. Shanfield, 22, of Hastings, Pa.

Sgt. Zachary J. Walters, 24, of Palm Coast, Fla.

Shanfield and Walters were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

8 June 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. Erick J. Klusacek, 22, of Calcium, N.Y., died June 8 at Gerda Serai, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

9 June 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of four airmen who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died June 9, near Forward Operating Base Jackson, Afghanistan, in a helicopter crash. Killed were:

Staff Sgt. Michael P. Flores, 31, of San Antonio, Texas, assigned to the 48th Rescue Squadron, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.

1st Lt. Joel C. Gentz, 25, of Grass Lake, Mich., assigned to the 58th Rescue Squadron, Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

Staff Sgt. David C. Smith, 26, of Eight Mile, Ala., assigned to the 66th Rescue Squadron, Nellis Air Force Base.

Senior Airman Benjamin D. White, 24, of Erwin, Tenn., assigned to the 48thRescue Squadron, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

[Grace]

May 22, 1968

Airmen Missing From Vietnam War Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of nine U.S. servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been accounted-for and returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

Air Force Col. William H. Mason, Camden, Ark.;
Lt. Col. Jerry L. Chambers, Muskogee, Okla.;
Maj. William T. McPhail, Chattanooga, Tenn.;
Maj. Thomas B. Mitchell, Littleton, Colo.;
Chief Master Sgt. John Q. Adam, Bethel, Kan.;
Chief Master Sgt. Calvin C. Glover, Steubenville, Ohio;
Chief Master Sgt. Thomas E. Knebel, Midway, Ark.;
Chief Master Sgt. Melvin D. Rash, Yorktown, Va.;
Master Sgt. Gary Pate, Brooks, Ga., were buried as a group today in Arlington National Cemetery.

The individually identified remains of each airman were previously returned to their families for burial.

On May 22, 1968, these men were aboard a C-130A Hercules on an evening flare mission over northern Salavan Province, Laos. Fifteen minutes after the aircraft made a radio call, the crew of another U.S. aircraft observed a large ground fire near the last known location of Mason’s aircraft. Search and rescue attempts were not initiated due to heavy antiaircraft fire in the area.

Analysts from DPMO developed case leads with information spanning more than 40 years. Through interviews with eyewitnesses and research in the National Archives, several locations in Laos and South Vietnam were pinpointed as potential crash sites. Between 1989 and 2008, teams from Laos People’s Democratic Republic and the Vietnam, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, pursued leads, interviewed villagers, and conducted 10 field investigations and four excavations in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam. They recovered aircraft wreckage, human remains, crew-related equipment and personal effects.

Scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA – which matched that of the crewmembers’ families – as well as dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.

Since late 1973, the remains of 927 Americans killed in the Vietnam War have been accounted-for and returned to their families. With the accounting of these airmen, 1,719 service members still remain missing from the conflict.

[Grace]

9 June 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Lance Cpl. Michael G. Plank, 25, of Cameron Mills, N.Y., died June 9 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

This incident is under investigation.