Age 17

Jackson, Michael Robert
Army Recruit

Michael Robert Jackson, age 17, from Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore county.

Parents: Helen Jackson

Service era: Vietnam
Schools: School No. 45

Date of death: Wednesday, November 8, 1961
Death details: Among 77 killed in Richmond, Virginia when the engines aboard their plane failed and it crashed into marshland. The crew and passengers died from carbon monoxide poisoning. The flight was enroute from Baltimore to Columbia, South Carolina.
Cemetery: Baltimore National

Source: Associated Press (1961), findagrave.com, Baltimore Evening Sun (1961)

Kranch Jr., Leroy Walter
Army Recruit

Leroy Walter Kranch Jr., age 17, from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Northampton county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, November 8, 1961
Death details: Among 77 killed in Richmond, Virginia when the engines aboard their plane failed and it crashed into marshland. The crew and passengers died from carbon monoxide poisoning. The flight was enroute from Baltimore to Columbia, South Carolina.

Source: Associated Press (1961), New York Daily News (1961)

Monson, Theodore M. Jr.
Army Recruit

Theodore M. Jr. Monson, age 17, from North Bergen, New Jersey, Hudson county.

Parents: Theodore Monson

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, November 8, 1961
Death details: Among 77 killed in Richmond, Virginia when the engines aboard their plane failed and it crashed into marshland. The crew and passengers died from carbon monoxide poisoning. The flight was enroute from Baltimore to Columbia, South Carolina.

Source: Associated Press (1961), New York Daily News (1961)

Rosenberger, Joseph Eugene
Army Recruit

Joseph Eugene Rosenberger, age 17, from Arnold, Maryland, Anne Arundel county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, November 8, 1961
Death details: Among 77 killed in Richmond, Virginia when the engines aboard their plane failed and it crashed into marshland. The crew and passengers died from carbon monoxide poisoning. The flight was enroute from Baltimore to Columbia, South Carolina.
Cemetery: Cedar Hill in Brooklyn Park, Maryland

Source: Associated Press (1961), findagrave.com

Casebolt, Billy G.

Billy G. Casebolt, age 17, from Ford’s Branch, Kentucky, Pike county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Saturday, July 8, 1961
Death details: Among four Army recruits killed at Fort Benning, Georgia when a bolt of lightning struck a tree and richocheted into the group at a remote rifle range.

Source: UPI (1970)

Carrington, Bruce Linn
Navy Fireman

Bruce Linn Carrington, age 17, from Smithland, Iowa, Woodbury county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Tuesday, June 12, 1951
Death details: Killed aboard the destroyer USS Walke which was was providing anti-submarine protection to carriers from Task Force 77 off the east coast of Wonsan, North Korea, when it was struck on the port side by an enemy mine or torpedo. The force of the explosion tossed many sailors into the water, and those who were injured had a difficult time staying afloat while they waited for rescue. Twenty-six sailors were killed in the explosion and forty were wounded.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Hanson, Ellwood Frank
Army Sergeant 1st class

Ellwood Frank Hanson, age 17, from Fairfield, Connecticut, Fairfield county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Wednesday, April 25, 1951
Death details: On April 25, 1951, elements of the 24th Infantry Division, including the 21st Infantry Regiment and the 5th Regimental Combat Team, which was attached to the division at the time, were dug into positions north of Seoul, South Korea, where massive Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) had regrouped after their previous attempts to penetrate the valley areas east of Seoul. The CCF launched a renewed offensive against these positions, and despite fierce resistance, could not be stopped. Full enemy divisions were committed in succession, passing around or through their own lines to engage severely outnumbered friendly forces. For several miles, a withdrawal by stages unfolded. Artillery and tanks covered movement after movement, using slight rises in terrain to their full defensive value. The U.S. units suffered heavy casualties and had many men captured during these successive rear guard actions. Master Sergeant Ellwood Frank Hanson entered the U.S. Army from Connecticut and was a member of D Company of the 6th Medium Tank Battalion, 24th Infantry Division. On April 25, he was taken as a prisoner during this withdrawal action. He was marched north with other prisoners to POW Camp 1 at Changsong on the south bank of the Yalu River; however, he died of illness several days short of reaching the camp. Attempts to locate or identify his remains following the war were unsuccessful. Today, Master Sergeant Hanson is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Boothroyd, Albert Ellsworth
Army Private 1st class

Albert Ellsworth Boothroyd, age 17, from Tolland County Tolland, Connecticut .

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Wednesday, January 31, 1951
Death details: By mid-November 1950, U.S. and Allied forces had advanced to within approximately sixty miles of the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China. On November 25, approximately 300,000 Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) “volunteers” suddenly and fiercely counterattacked after crossing the Yalu. The 2nd Infantry Division, located the farthest north of units at the Chongchon River, could not halt the CCF advance and was ordered to withdraw to defensive positions at Sunchon in the South Pyongan province of North Korea. As the division pulled back from Kunu-ri toward Sunchon, it conducted an intense rearguard action while fighting to break through well-defended roadblocks set up by CCF infiltrators. The withdrawal was not complete until December 1, and the 2nd Infantry Division suffered extremely heavy casualties in the process. Corporal Albert Ellsworth Boothroyd, who joined the U.S. Army from Connecticut, served with the Service Battery, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was taken prisoner of war on November 30, 1950, as his unit was fighting through a roadblock while en route to Sunchon, North Korea. After his capture, he was marched to a holding camp at the Pukchin Tarigol Valley where he died of malnutrition on or before January 31, 1951. His remains were not recovered at the time, and he has not been identified among those remains returned to U.S. custody since the ceasefire. Today, Corporal Boothroyd is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Creagan, Patrick Henry
Army Private 1st class

Patrick Henry Creagan, age 17, from Iowa, Appanoose county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Sunday, December 3, 1950
Death details: On the evening of November 27, 1950, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) launched a massive attack against the U.S. and United Nations (UN) troops stationed in the Chosin Reservoir area in north-east North Korea. The resulting seventeen-day conflict became known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. At the time of the initial CCF attack, members of the U.S. Army’s 31st and 32nd Infantry Regiments were defending the area north of Sinhung-ni, on the east side of the reservoir. The defenders were overwhelmed by the numerically superior CCF, and on December 1 were forced to withdraw to friendly lines at Hagaru-ri. Many men were lost or captured during the withdraw, with survivors reaching friendly lines in Hagaru-ri on December 2 and 3. Once at Hagaru-ri, the survivors of the withdrawal manned a section of the perimeter near East Hill, a strong defensive position overlooking the town. On the night of December 3, the Chinese attacked the Hagaru-ri perimeter and overwhelmed the defenders there. Many Americans were killed or went missing during these actions. Private First Class Patrick Henry Creagan, who joined the U.S. Army from Iowa, served with I Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He went missing in action during the CCF attacks on December 3, 1950, though specific details regarding his loss are unknown. No one saw him, and he was never reported to be a prisoner of war. After the war, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody, and he is still unaccounted for. Today, Private First Class Creagan is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Dorser, Jimmie Leonard
Army Private 1st class

Jimmie Leonard Dorser, age 17, from Missouri, Greene county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Sunday, December 3, 1950
Death details: On December 13, 2006, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Corporal Jimmie Leonard Dorser, missing from the Korean War. Corporal Dorser joined the U.S. Army from Missouri and was a member of I Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. In late November 1950, his unit was positioned east of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. On November 27, Chinese Communist Forces launched a large-scale surprise attack against U.S. forces in the vicinity of the Chosin Reservoir, forcing a southward withdrawal. CPL Dorser was lost during the fighting withdrawal from Chosin. His remains could not be recovered at the time of his loss, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody immediately after the ceasefire. In 2002, a joint U.S. and North Korean investigative team excavated a mass grave on the eastern side of the Chosin Reservoir. Analysts were eventually able to identify CPL Dorser from among these remains. Corporal Dorser is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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