Jose S. N. Crisostomo, age 59, from Inarajan, Guam. Their last known residence was in Inarajan.
Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: International Security Assistance Force Kabul, Kabul, Afghanistan.
Date of death: Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Death details: Died in Kabul, Afghanistant, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.
Source: Department of Defense, Interior Department
Theodore Arnold Spatol, age 59, from Thermopolis, Wyoming, Hot Springs county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: 1041St Engineer Assault Float Bridge, Rock Springs, Wy
Date of death: Thursday, December 14, 2006
Death details: Died from a non-combat related illness in Thermopolis
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Raymond Mason Jr., age 59, from Bristol, Rhode Island.
Parents: Raymond and Zella (Clark) Mason (both preceded in death)
Children: John Kane Jr. and Brian Kane
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: East Providence High graduate, Providence Vocational Technical School
Date of death: Sunday, May 28, 2006
Death details: Wounded in Vietnam in 1968. He died from his wounds in 2006.
Source: Vietnam Veterans Association, Stars and Stripes, Providence Journal (2006)
Richard Pruett, age 59, from San Diego, California, San Diego county.
Service era: Vietnam
Spouse: Ann Wahlen (Married April 2, 1988)
Parents: Ruth Pruett, Monroe E. Pruett (preceded in death)
Children: Lori Sazej, Amy Coffman
School: Point Loma High graduate, San Diego
Date of death: Monday, February 28, 2005
Death details: Richard was wounded while in patrol in 1969. He had removed his flak jacket to sit near a tree. An explosive caused sharapnel to strike him. When he returned home his lower intestines were destroyed. He died from complications related to those injuries. His name was added to the Wall in 2007.
Cemetery: Cedarlawn Memorial
Source: National Archives, San Diego Tribune, NBC, findagrave.com, Associated Press (2007)
William David Chaney, age 59, from Schaumburg, Illinois, Cook county.
Spouse: Married
Children: Son
Service era: Iraq
Military history: B Company, 1St Battalion / 106Th Aviation Regiment, Chicago, Il 60638
Date of death: Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Death details: He got sick in Iraq and was sent to a military hospital in Germany, where he died from complications after surgery to remove his appendix
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
John Cline Luikart, age 59, from Curry County Clovis, New Mexico .
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, January 9, 1945
Death details: On December 13, 1944, Japanese forces in the Philippines began the transfer of 1,621 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) to Japan. The POWs were to make the journey aboard transport ships whose harsh conditions and extreme overcrowding led survivors to refer to them as “Hell Ships.” The ships also lacked markings that would distinguish them from any other military target, causing some of them to be attacked by Allied forces who could not identify them as POW transports. On December 14, 1944, Allied aircraft attacked the first ship, the Oryoku Maru, in Subic Bay in the Philippines, killing many Allied POWs who became lost in the water, sank with the ship, or were washed ashore. Survivors of the bombing were put aboard two other ships, the Enoura Maru and the Brazil Maru, to continue on to Japan. During the journey, while anchored in Takao Harbor, Formosa (present-day Taiwan), the Enoura Maru was attacked by Allied aircraft from the USS Hornet (CV-8), killing Allied POWs who were lost in the water, on board the ship, or on the nearby shore. Survivors of the Enoura Maru bombing were loaded onto the Brazil Maru, and reached Japan on January 30, 1945. As a result of these incidents, Allied POWs were lost in the Philippines, at sea between the Philippines and Taiwan, while anchored in Taiwan, at sea between Taiwan and Japan, and in Japan. The attacks on these POW transports ultimately resulted in a series of death notifications from the Japanese government through the International Red Cross (IRC), and some casualties were given up to five different dates of death at various locations during the transfer. Witness accounts from surviving POWs offer detailed information for a handful of casualties, but the specific dates of loss and/or last-known locations for many of these POWs are based on the most recent reported date of death. Lieutenant Colonel John Cline Luikart, who joined the U.S. Army from New Mexico, served with the 515th Coast Artillery in the Philippines. He was captured by Japanese forces during their invasion of the islands and interned until December 1944, when he was put aboard the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate LTC Luikart was killed several weeks later in the attack on the Enoura Maru; however, these reports often involve information solely furnished by enemy governments, with some casualties given multiple dates of death. Future research may determine that these reports were inaccurate. LTC Luikart’s remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Lieutenant Colonel Luikart is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency