In Memoriam

[Grace]

5 January 2011

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

Sgt. Eric M. Nettleton, 26, of Wichita, Kan., died Jan. 5, in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan of wounds suffered in Dehjawz-e Hasanzay when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.

[Grace]

7 January 2011

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

Lance Cpl. Joseph R. Giese, 24, of Winder, Ga., died Jan. 7 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

5 January 2011

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

They died January 5 of wounds suffered at Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan when insurgents attacked their unit using an improvised explosive device.

Killed were:

Sgt. 1st Class Robert W. Pharris, 48, of Seymour, Mo. He was assigned to the Missouri National Guard Agri-Business Development Team IV, Jefferson City, Mo.

Spc. Christian J. Romig, 24, of Kenner, La. He was assigned to 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

7 January 2011

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

They died Jan. 7 of wounds suffered at Logar Province, Afghanistan when insurgents attacked their unit using an improvised explosive device and small arms fire. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.

Killed were:

Spc. Ethan C. Hardin, 25, of Fayetteville, Ark., and

Pfc. Ira B. Laningham, IV, 22, of Zapata, Texas.

[Grace]

7 January 2011

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

Pfc. Robert J. Near, 21, of Nampa, Idaho, died Jan. 7 at Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 86th Signal Battalion, Fort Huachuca, Ariz.

[Grace]

France

Cpl. Herve Guinaud
From: Poitiers, France
Age: 42
Unit: Régiment d'Infanterie de Chars de Marine (Marine Armored Infantry Regiment)
Died: January 8, 2011

Died when his armored vehicle struck a roadside bomb during an operation in southern Kapisa province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

Vietnam

Airmen Missing From Vietnam War Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of two servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

Air Force Col. James E. Dennany, 34, of Kalamazoo, Mich., and Maj. Robert L. Tucci, 27, of Detroit, will be buried as a group Jan. 14, in the Dallas-Ft. Worth National Cemetery.

On Nov. 12, 1969, Dennany and Tucci were flying the number three aircraft of three F-4Ds escorting an AC-130 gunship on a night strike mission over Laos. After the gunship attacked six trucks and set two of them on fire, the AC-130 crew’s night vision equipment was impacted by the glow from the fires. They requested that Tucci attack the remaining trucks. During the attack, gunship crew members observed anti-aircraft artillery gunfire directed at Tucci’s plane followed by a large explosion. No radio transmissions were heard from the F-4D following the attack and no parachutes were seen in the area. An immediate electronic search revealed nothing and no formal search was initiated due to heavy anti-aircraft fire in the area.

Beginning in the mid-1990s analysts at DPMO and the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) developed case leads they collected from wartime reporting and archival research.

In 1994, a joint U.S.-Lao People’s Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) team led by JPAC analyzed leads, interviewed villagers, and surveyed five reported crash sites near the record loss location with negative results.

In 1999, during another joint survey, officials in Ban Soppeng, Laos, turned over remains later determined to be human, two .38 caliber pistols and other crew-related equipment that villagers had recovered from a nearby crash site. Between 1999 and 2009, other joint U.S.-L.P.D.R. teams pursued leads, interviewed villagers, and conducted three excavations. They recovered aircraft wreckage, human remains, crew-related equipment and personal effects.

JPAC scientists used forensic tools and circumstantial evidence in the identification of the remains.

With the accounting of these airmen, 1,702 service members still remain missing from the conflict.