Michael A. Cathcart, age 31, from Bay City, Michigan.
Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Date of death: Friday, November 14, 2014
Death details: Died in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan, of wounds received from small arms fire while on dismounted combat operations.
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Bufford Kenneth VanSlyke, age 22, from Bay City, Michigan, Bay county.
Service era: Iraq
Spouse: Kortni
Child: Kaiden, 4 months
Parent: Cindy L. Fisher
Military history: B Co, 1St Bn, 24Th Mar, 4Th Mar Div, Saginaw, Michigan
Date of death: Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Death details: Hostile; Fallujah, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, findagrave.com
Eugene Henry Eli Alex, age 32, from Bay City, Michigan, Bay county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Hhc, 4Th Squadron, 14Th Cavalry, 172D Sbct (4 Id), Fort Wainwright, Ak
Date of death: Saturday, September 2, 2006
Death details: Died in a medical center in Landstuhl, Germany from wounds suffered in battle
Source: Department of Defense, findagrave.com
Floyd William Jr. Kotewa, age 19, from Bay City, Michigan, Bay county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, August 14, 1971
Death details: Hostile, killed, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, UPI (1971)
Gregory Wayne Felker, age 20, from Bay City, Michigan, Bay county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, December 24, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives
Terry Joseph VanOchten, age 19, from Bay City, Michigan, Bay county.
Parents: Delmer J. VanOchten
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, July 17, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, UPI (1970)
Daniel Ward Gleason, age 25, from Bay City, Michigan, Bay county.
Children: Jim
Service era: Vietnam
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment
Date of death: Sunday, February 23, 1969
Death details: Killed by small arms fire, Darlac Province
Cemetery: Floral Gardens, Bay City
Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association
Don Maurice LaForest, age 19, from Bay City, Michigan, Bay county.
Parents: Doris A. LaForest
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Wednesday, November 1, 1950
Death details: On February 6, 2010, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant Don Maurice La Forest, missing from the Korean War. Sergeant La Forest entered the U.S. Army from Michigan and served in Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was killed in action on November 1, 1950, as his unit engaged enemy forces near a bend in the Kuryong River known as “Camel’s Head Bend” during the Battle of Unsan. He was buried near the area of his loss, but his remains were not returned to the U.S. immediately following the war. In 2004, a joint U.S./North Korean investigative team excavated a mass grave south of Unsan and recovered the remains of several U.S. service members. In 2010, analysts were able to successfully identify SGT La Forest from among these remains.
Source: Lansing State Journal (1950, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Joseph Charles Shelly from Bay City, Michigan, Bay county.
Parents: Joseph Shelly
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Thursday, March 22, 1945
Cemetery: Zachary Taylor National
Source: National Archives, grave marker
James Torka from Bay County Bay City, Michigan .
Parents: Catherine Torka
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Monday, December 21, 1942
Death details: In November 1942, the U.S. Army’s 32nd Infantry Division regained control of Buna, Papua New Guinea, with its goal of neutralizing an enemy threat to Port Moresby and, ultimately, to the Australian mainland itself. The rugged terrain that the soldiers faced was fiercely defended by Japanese troops and included tidal swamplands with a labyrinth of camouflaged trenches and bunkers. In December 1942, when the 32nd Infantry Division was reinforced with Australian soldiers, Buna finally fell to the Allies; however, malaria and other tropical diseases contributed to a high number of casualties and deaths for the 32nd Infantry Division. Technician Fifth Grade James Torka entered the U.S. Army from Michigan and served in Company B of the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division. He was killed in action on December 21, 1942 near Buna on New Guinea. T5 Torka was buried in an isolated grave near where he fell, but post-war searches failed to locate or identify his remains, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Technician Fifth Grade Torka is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Daily Monitor Leader (1943)