Black Hawk county Iowa

Gienau, Richard Brian
Army 2nd lieutenant

Richard Brian Gienau, age 29, from Waterloo, Iowa, Black Hawk county.

Service era: Iraq

Child: Keenan, 9

Parents: Richard Gienau and Debbee Way

Schools: Tripoli High (1994), University of Northern Iowa (2003)

Military history: A Company , 224Th Engineer battalion, (1 Mef), 105Th Troop Command, Burlington, Iowa

Date of death: Sunday, February 27, 2005
Death details: Hostile; Ar Ramadi, Iraq. Killed when an improvised explosive device hit his military vehicle.

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

Steffeney, Eric Matthew
Army Staff Sergeant

Eric Matthew Steffeney, age 28, from Waterloo, Iowa, Black Hawk county.

Service era: Iraq
Military history: 18Th Ordnance Company, 184Th Ordnance Battalion, 52Nd Ordnance Group, Fort Bragg, Nc

Date of death: Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Death details: Hostile; Tuz, Iraq

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

Ayers, Richard Lee
Air Force Colonel

Richard Lee Ayers, age 37, from Waterloo, Iowa, Black Hawk county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: April 16, 1970
Death details: On April 16, 1970, an RF-4C Phantom II (tail number 66-0409) with two crew members took off on a reconnaissance mission in the general vicinity of the tri-border area between Laos and North and South Vietnam. During the mission, the aircraft completed an in-flight refueling and reported to the Forward Air Controller that it was moving north to another target area. This was the last known transmission from the aircraft, and it failed to return to base. Searches were made along the flight path but were unsuccessful in locating either crew member.

Major Richard Lee Ayers entered the U.S. Air Force from Iowa and served in the 12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. He was the pilot of the RF-4C when it went missing and he remains unaccounted for. After the incident, the Air Force promoted Major Ayers to Colonel.  Today, Colonel Ayers is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Wilson, Jeffrey Lynn
Marines Lieutenant corporal

Jeffrey Lynn Wilson, age 19, from Waterloo, Iowa, Black Hawk county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Friday, March 6, 1970
Death details: Hostile in South Vietnam. He was serving as a crew chief in a helicopter which was unloading troops when he was fatally wounded.

Source: National Archives, Waterloo Courier (1970)

Mullen, Michael Eugene
Army Sergeant

Michael Eugene Mullen, age 25, from LaPorte City, Iowa, Black Hawk county.

Parents: Gene Mullen

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, February 18, 1970
Death details: Killed by friendly fire in South Vietnam. Shortly after his death his parents used the insurance money to place an advertisement in the local newspaper in opposition of the war.

Source: National Archives, Des Moines Register (1970), Mason City Globe Gazette (1970)

Rogers, Craig Ray
Army Specialist 4

Craig Ray Rogers, age 19, from Waterloo, Iowa, Black Hawk county.

Parents: Carl R. Rogers

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, January 7, 1970
Death details: Hostile in South Vietnam
Cemetery: Fairview

Source: National Archives, Waterloo Courier (1970)

Whitford, Lawrence W. Jr.
Air Force Colonel

Lawrence W. Jr. Whitford from Cedar Falls, Iowa, Black Hawk county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: November 2, 1969
Death details: 

On November 2, 1969, an F-100F Super Sabre (tail number 56-3796) took off from Tuy Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam, carrying two crew members on a forward air controller (FAC) mission over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos. The last radio transmission received from the pilot stated that he was running out of fuel over Attapeu Province, about 20 miles east of the city of Muong May. The Super Sabre had a scheduled refueling, but when it failed to make the rendezvous, an aerial search was launched. The search found no sign of the aircraft, a crash site, or the missing crew. Because the aircraft disappeared over an area heavily infiltrated by enemy forces, a ground search could not be conducted. The aircraft and its two crew members remain unaccounted for.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Barragy, William Joseph
Army Major

William Joseph Barragy, age 42, from Black Hawk County Waterloo, Iowa .

Parents: William Barragy

Service era: Vietnam
Military history: Catholic Army chaplain; 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell

Date of death: Wednesday, May 4, 1966
Death details: Non-hostile, died in South Vietnam. Died in a helicopter crash.

Source: National Archives, Globe Gazette (1966)

Hibbs, Robert John
Army 2nd lieutenant

Robert John Hibbs, age 23, from Black Hawk County Cedar Falls, Iowa .

Service era: Vietnam
Schools: State College of Iowa (1964)

Date of death: Saturday, March 5, 1966
Death details: Medal of Honor citation: “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. 2d Lt. Hibbs was in command of a 15-man ambush patrol of the 2d Battalion, when his unit observed a company of Viet Cong advancing along the road toward the 2d Battalion’s position. Informing his command post by radio of the impending attack, he prepared his men for the oncoming Viet Cong, emplaced 2 mines in their path and, when the insurgents were within 20 feet of the patrol’s position, he fired the 2 anti personnel mines, wounding or killing half of the enemy company. Then, to cover the withdrawal of his patrol, he threw hand grenades, stepped onto the open road, and opened fire on the remainder of the Viet Cong force of approximately 50 men. Having rejoined his men, he was leading them toward the battalion perimeter when the patrol encountered the rear elements of another Viet Cong company deployed to attack the battalion. With the advantage of surprise, he directed a charge against the Viet Cong, which carried the patrol through the insurgent force, completely disrupting its attack. Learning that a wounded patrol member was wandering in the area between the 2 opposing forces and although moments from safety and wounded in the leg himself, he and a sergeant went back to the battlefield to recover the stricken man. After they maneuvered through the withering fire of 2 Viet Cong machine guns, the sergeant grabbed the dazed soldier and dragged him back toward the friendly lines while 2d Lt. Hibbs remained behind to provide covering fire. Armed with only an M-16 rifle and a pistol, but determined to destroy the enemy positions, he then charged the 2 machine gun emplacements and was struck down. Before succumbing to his mortal wounds, he destroyed the starlight telescopic sight attached to his rifle to prevent its capture and use by the Viet Cong. 2d Lt. Hibb’s profound concern for his fellow soldiers, and his intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.”

Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1966)

Martin, Alfred John
Army Corporal

Alfred John Martin, age 21, from Black Hawk County Waterloo, Iowa .

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, November 30, 1950
Death details: By mid-November 1950, U.S. and Allied forces had advanced to within approximately sixty miles of the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China. On November 25, approximately 300,000 Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) “volunteers” suddenly and fiercely counterattacked after crossing the Yalu. The 2nd Infantry Division, located the farthest north of units at the Chongchon River, could not halt the CCF advance and was ordered to withdraw to defensive positions at Sunchon in the South Pyongan province of North Korea. As the division pulled back from Kunu-ri toward Sunchon, it conducted an intense rearguard action while fighting to break through well-defended roadblocks set up by CCF infiltrators. The withdrawal was not complete until December 1, and the 2nd Infantry Division suffered extremely heavy casualties in the process. Sergeant Alfred John Martin, who joined the U.S. Army from California, was a member of the Headquarters and Headquarters Service Company, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by the CCF during his unit’s fighting withdrawal from Kunu-ri on November 30, 1950. He was marched to a holding camp in the Pukchin-Tarigol Valley, where he died of malnutrition in February 1951. His remains have not been recovered, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Sergeant Martin is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Waterloo Courier (2008)

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