Gary Lynn Ruff, age 21, from Benton Harbor, Michigan, Berrien county.
Parents: Orville Ruff and Mrs William Klemm
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Benton Harbor (1967)
Date of death: Thursday, September 3, 1970
Death details: Killed in South Vietnam in an explosion of mortar bags at his base. His detail was assigned to dispose of mortar bags by burning them.
Source: National Archives, Saint Joseph Herald Press (1970)
Wesley Ernest Graham, age 21, from Benton Harbor, Michigan, Berrien county.
Parents: Fred Ernest Graham
Service era: World War II
Date of death: December 7, 1941
Death details: On June 5, 2020, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified the remains of Seaman First Class Wesley E. Graham, missing from World War II.
Seaman First Class Graham joined the U.S. Navy from Michigan and served aboard the USS Oklahoma. On December 7, 1941, he was killed in the Japanese surprise attacks at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. SEA1 Graham’s remains were recovered from the ship following the incident; however, they could not be identified and were buried as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2015, the DPAA began the reexaminations of unknown remains associated with the USS Oklahoma using advances in forensic technology. Sea 1 Graham’s remains were disinterred as part of this effort and were eventually identified.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Louis Edward Jr. Harris, age 21, from Benton Harbor, Michigan, Berrien county.
Parents: Louis Edward Harris Sr.
Service era: World War II
Schools: Benton Harbor High (1938)
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Oklahoma
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Herald Palladium (1941)