In Memoriam

[Grace]

12 October 2010

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

Spc. Matthew C. Powell, 20, of Slidell, La., died Oct. 12 at Kandahar Airfield, of wounds suffered at Ghunday Ghar, Afghanistan when insurgents attacked his military vehicle using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 526th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

13 October 2010

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

Lance Cpl. Raymon L. A. Johnson, 22, of Midland, Ga., died Oct. 13 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

World War II

Missing WWII Airman Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Arthur F. Parkhurst, of Evansville, Ind., will be buried on Oct. 16 in Dayton, Ohio. On March 12, 1945, Parkhurst and five other crew members aboard a C-47A Skytrain departed Tanauan Airfield on Leyte, Philippines, on a resupply mission to guerilla troops. Once cleared for takeoff there was no further communication between the aircrew and airfield operators. When the aircraft failed to return, a thorough search of an area ten miles on either side of the intended route was initiated. No evidence of the aircraft was found and the six men were presumed killed in action, their remains determined non-recoverable.

In 1989, a Philippine national police officer contacted U.S. officials regarding a possible World War II-era aircraft crash near Leyte. Human remains, aircraft parts and artifacts -- including an identification tag belonging to Parkhurst -- were turned over to the local police, then to U.S. officials.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command used dental comparisons and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA -- which matched that of Parkhurst’s brother and sister -- in the identification of his remains.

At the end of the war, the U.S. government was unable to recover and identify approximately 79,000 Americans. Today, more than 72,000 are unaccounted-for from the conflict.

[Grace]

13 October 2010

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

The following Marines died Oct. 13 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan:

Cpl. Justin J. Cain, 22, of Manitowoc, Wis.

Lance Cpl. Phillip D. Vinnedge, 19, of Saint Charles, Mo.

Lance Cpl. Joseph E. Rodewald, 21, of Albany, Ore.

Pfc. Victor A. Dew, 20, of Granite Bay, Calif.

All four Marines were assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

13 October 2010

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

Pfc. Jordan M. Byrd, 19, of Grantsville, Utah, died Oct. 13 in Yahya Kheyl, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

14 October 2010

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

Lance Cpl. Irvin M. Ceniceros, 21, of Clarksville, Ark., died Oct. 14 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

14 October 2010

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

Lance Cpl. Alec E. Catherwood, 19, of Byron, Ill., died Oct. 14 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.