Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Marie T. Rossi, age 32, from Oradell, New Jersey, Bergen county.
Spouse: John Anderson Clayton (married in 1990)
Service era: Gulf War
Date of death: Sunday, March 3, 1991
Death details: Died the day after the ceasefire when her helicopter crashed.
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Department of Defense, Newsday (1991)
Christopher Werner DeAngelis, age 23, from Dumont, New Jersey, Bergen county.
Spouse: Donna Sanchez-Salazar
Service era: Cold War
Date of death: Sunday, May 17, 1987
Death details: Died aboard the USS Stark. While in the Persian Gulf on May 17, 1987, she was struck by two Iraqi Exocet missiles, killing 37 sailors and wounding 21. Brought under control, the frigate sailed to Bahrain and was successfully repaired at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi. Following repairs and subsequent tours in the Atlantic and Middle East, Stark was decommissioned on May 7, 1999, and was scrapped in 2006.
Source: Associated Press, National Museum of the U.S. Navy
Robert Rudolph Schamberger, age 37, from Oakland, New Jersey, Bergen county.
Parents: Emily and Rudolf Schamberger
Service era: Grenada
Schools: Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High (1965)
Date of death: Sunday, October 23, 1983
Death details: Killed accidentally while with U.S. forces preparing to invade Grenada
Cemetery: Coral Ridge in Cape Coral, Florida
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Seals in Action by Kevin Dockery, findagrave.com
Robert Nicholas Vennik from Wyckoff, New Jersey.
Date of death: Thursday, August 26, 1971
Death details: On November 3, 2000, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Staff Sergeant Robert Nicholas Vennik, missing from the Vietnam War.
Staff Sergeant Vennik, who joined the U.S. Army from New Jersey, was a member of Troop B, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 23rd Infantry Division (Americal). On August 26, 1971, he was aboard an armored personnel carrier in the vicinity of Hoi An City in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam. The vehicle was ambushed by enemy forces and struck by a rocket-propelled grenade, killing SSG Vennik. Hostile presence in the area inhibited recovery efforts after the attack. In 2000, a joint U.S./Vietnamese recovery team investigated the area of his loss and located remains which were later identified as those of SSG Vennik.
Sources: National Arvhices, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Kevin Richard Humphrey, age 19, from Park Ridge, New Jersey, Bergen county.
Parents: William E. Humphrey
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Pascack Hills High (1969)
Military history: 175th New York
Date of death: Thursday, November 5, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Passaic Herald News (1970)
Thomas Charles Schiess, age 20, from Edgewater, New Jersey, Bergen county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, October 10, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives
Antonio Ambrosio Grau, age 19, from Lodi, New Jersey, Bergen county.
Parents: Javier Rodriguez
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Lodi High
Date of death: Sunday, August 30, 1970
Death details: Hostile, died of wounds in South Vietnam
Paul Everette Jr. Paquin, age 20, from Montvale, New Jersey, Bergen county.
Parents: Paul Paquin
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Spring Valley public schools
Date of death: Saturday, June 27, 1970
Death details: Died from injuries suffered in South Vietnam when he fell off an Army vehicle while enroute to base from a combat mission.
Source: National Archives, White Plains Journal News (1970)
Patrick Eugene Lawlor, age 21, from Oakland, New Jersey, Bergen county.
Parents: Jean Perkins Lawlor
Spouse: None
Children: None
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Indian Hills High (1966)
Military history: 43rd Indiana
Date of death: Saturday, May 30, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Cemetery: Maryrest in Mahwah
Source: National Archives Paterson News (1970)
James Lloyd Giegel, age 20, from Wyckoff, New Jersey, Bergen county.
Parents: Lloyd F. Giegel
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, May 26, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam