Nicholas A. Taylor, age 20, from Berne, Indiana, Adams county.
Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 81st Troop Comman, Indiana National Guard, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Date of death: Monday, July 16, 2012
Death details: Died in Wali Kot District, Afghanistan from injuries suffered when their vehcile was struck by enemy rocket propelled grenades. Spc. Sergio E. Perez Jr. was also killed.
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Robert Augustine III Seidel, age 23, from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Adams county.
Service era: Iraq – Operation Iraqi Freedom
Military history: Company B, 2d Battalion, 22d Infantry, 1st Bct, (4 Id), Fort Drum, Ny
Date of death: Thursday, May 18, 2006
Death details: Died of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee in Baghdad
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Lucas V. Tripp, age 23, from Aurora, Colorado, Adams county.
Military history: Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th Aviation Regiment.
Date of death: Tuesday, March 11, 2003
Death details: Among 11 soldiers who died when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training mission in Fort Drum, New York.
Source: New York Times, Army Times
Willard Marion Collins from Quincy, Illinois, Adams county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, March 9, 1966
Death details:
On March 9, 1966, an AC-47 Spooky (bureau number 44-76290) with six crew members was providing close air support in defense of the A Shau Special Forces Camp, which was under heavy enemy assault and in danger of being overrun. On its second pass at treetop level over the enemy, the Spooky was hit by enemy ground fire, which tore the right engine from its mounts and forced the pilot to crash land on a nearby mountainside, in the vicinity of grid coordinates YC 481 871. The crew set up a defensive perimeter around the aircraft but the enemy attacked again. Soon after, the crew made radio contact with a U.S. Army pilot, who then located the downed Spooky and directed additional U.S. aircraft to make passes over the area to suppress enemy fire. The downed crew eventually received word that rescue helicopters were en route but within a short while, enemy fire raked the side of the Spooky and killed two crew members. A third enemy assault began just as the rescue helicopter arrived; the helicopter rescued three of the remaining four crew members. The two crew members who died during the action, and the remaining crew member who was not rescued following the third assault, were not recovered and all remain unaccounted-for.
Captain Willard Marion Collins entered the U.S. Air Force from Illinois and served in the 6250th Combat Support Group. He was the pilot of this AC-47 when it was shot down on March 9, 1966, and was killed when enemy fire raked the downed aircraft before the rescue helicopter landed. His remains were not recovered at the time but were observed at the crash site by survivors from the special forces camp who investigated the site following the crash. Attempts following the war to recover his remains were unsuccessful, and he remains unaccounted-for. Today, Captain Collins is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency