Battle Creek Michigan

Throckmorton, Joshua A.
Army Staff sergeant

Joshua A. Throckmorton, age 28, from Battle Creek, Michigan, Calhoun county.

Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 709th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Hohenfels, Germany

Date of death: Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Death details: Died in Paktia Province, Afghanistan of injuries suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improised explosive device. Killed were: Staff Sgt. Joshua A. Throckmorton, Spc. Jordan C. Schumann, Spc. Preston J. Suter.

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

Thomas, Bryan Richard
Army Private 1st class

Bryan Richard Thomas, age 22, from Battle Creek, Michigan, Calhoun county.

Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company B, 1St Battalion, 66Th Armor, 1 Bct, Fort Hood, Tx

Date of death: Thursday, September 4, 2008
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

Dickinson, Michael Anthony II Army Staff Sergeant

Michael Anthony Dickinson II, age 26, from Battle Creek, Michigan, Calhoun county.

Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company A, 9Th Psychological Operations Battalion, Fort Bragg, Nc

Date of death: Monday, July 17, 2006
Death details: Hostile; Balad, Iraq

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

King, Ronald L.
Air Force Staff sergeant

Ronald L. King, age 40, from Battle Creek, Michigan, Calhoun county.

Parents: Beatrice Robinson
Spouse: Yvette
Children: Ashley, 11; Travis, 10

School: Battle Creek Central High (1973)

Service era: Khobar Towers Bombing

Date of death: Tuesday, June 25, 1996
Death details: Terrorists bombed the Khobar Towers, a housing unit near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 19 Air Force personnel and injuring about 400 other Americans.

Source: Air Force, findagrave.com, Associated Press (1996), Detroit Free Press (1996), Battle Creek Enquirer (,1996, 2000)

Howard, Aaron W.
Army Private 1st class

Aaron W. Howard, age 20, from Battle Creek, Michigan, Calhoun county.

Parents: Bonnie and Winship Howard and Step mother Gloria Howard

Service era: Gulf War
Schools: Lakeview High (1989)
Military history: 82nd Engineering Battalion

Date of death: Tuesday, February 26, 1991
Death details: Killed by a land mine.

Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Gulf War Chronicles, Detroit Free Press (1991)

Pollack, John Joseph
Army Corporal

John Joseph Pollack, age 20, from Battle Creek, Michigan, Calhoun county.

Parents: John P. Pollack

Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Springfield High (1967), Ferris State College, Kellogg Community College

Date of death: Wednesday, January 28, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed, South Vietnam

Source: National Archives, Battle Creek Enquirer (1970)

Smith, Lowell D.
Army Private 1st class

Lowell D. Smith, age 24, from Battle Creek, Michigan, Calhoun county.

Parents: Mary Smith (preceded in death)
Spouse: Ada (Budd)
Children: Joseph ,6; Paul, 2

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, January 21, 1945
Death details: On June 21, 2022, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private First Class Lowell Dalton Smith, missing from World War II. Private First Class Smith entered the U.S. Army from Michigan and served with Company F, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. On January 21, 1945, he was killed in action against German forces outside the village of Reipertswiller, France. PFC Smith’s remains were not recovered or identified after the war. Recently, DPAA historians conducted a comprehensive review of unresolved casualties from the Battle of Reipertswiller. The review revealed that PFC Smith was one of ten candidates for association with an unidentified set of remains buried at the Lorraine American Cemetery in Saint-Avold, France. The remains were disinterred and accessioned into the DPAA laboratory, where they were identified as those of PFC Smith.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Battle Creek Enquirer (1945)

Green, Orville Lewis
Navy Reserves Ship’s cook 2nd class

Orville Lewis Green from Battle Creek, Michigan, Calhoun county.

Parents: Alma Jessie Morrison

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, December 18, 1944
Death details: He was aboard the destroyer USS Hull as it operated as part of the Fast Carrier Strike Force in the Philippine Sea. On December 17, 1944, the Hull was participating in refueling operations when the ships of its fueling group were engulfed by Typhoon Cobra. The Hull lost its ability to steer amid the enormous waves and began taking on water. The Hull eventually took on too much water to stay afloat and rolled and sank shortly before noon, on December 18. Sixty-two crew members were rescued, but a little more than two-hundred crew members were lost in the sinking.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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