David E Schultz II, age 25, from Blue Island, Illinois, Cook county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Troop B, 3D Squadron, 73D Cavalry Regiment, 82Nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, Nc
Date of death: Thursday, January 31, 2008
Death details: Hostile; Ash Shumali, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Wayne Bibbs, age 17, from Blue Island, Illinois, Cook county.
Parents: Rebecca Bibbs (died in 1996) and Homer Bibbs Sr. (died in 1989)
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Eisenhower High, dropped out in 1970 and joined the Army
Date of death: Sunday, June 11, 1972
Death details: Army Capt. Arnold E. Holm Jr. of Waterford, Conn.; Spc. Robin R. Yeakley of South Bend, Ind.; and Pfc. Wayne Bibbs of Chicago, were buried as a group, in a single casket representing the entire crew, on Nov. 9, 2011 in Arlington National Cemetery. On June 11, 1972, Holm was the pilot of an OH-6A Cayuse helicopter flying a reconnaissance mission in Thua Thien-Hue Province, South Vietnam. Also on board were his observer, Yeakley, and his door gunner, Bibbs. The aircraft made a second pass over a ridge, where enemy bunkers had been sighted, exploded and crashed, exploding again upon impact. Crews of other U.S. aircraft, involved in the mission, reported receiving enemy ground fire as they overflew the crash site looking for survivors.
Source: National Archives, Department of Defense, Southtown Star (1970), Chicago Tribune (2006)
Vernel Collins, age 35, from Blue Island, Illinois, Cook county.
Spouse: Joyce E. Collins
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, April 30, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Cemetery: Lincoln in Blue Island
Source: National Archives, Chicago Tribune (1970), findagrave.com
Charles Edward Oetjen, age 18, from Blue Island, Illinois, Cook county.
Parents: Edward A. Oetjen
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: On May 6, 2016, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private First Class Charles Edward Oetjen, missing from World War II. Private First Class Oetjen, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Illinois, was a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action on November 20, 1943, during the assault on the Japanese-controlled Betio Island of Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands. His remains were not recovered at the time. In 2015, the non-governmental organization History Flight, in partnership with DPAA, excavated a burial site on Betio Island and recovered remains of U.S. Marines who were killed during the assault on Betio, and PFC Oetjen was identified from among these remains.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency