Elder Fernandes, age 23, from Brockton, Massachusetts.
Parents: Ailiana Fernandes
Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: Fort Hood
Date of death: Wednesday, August 19, 2020
Death details: He was reported missing Aug. 19. His body was found weeks later in Temple, Texas. Medical examiner ruled suicide.
Cemetery: Cemetery in Brockton
Source: Associated Press, New York Post
Keith D. Benson, age 27, from Brockton, Massahusetts, Plymouth county.
Service era: Afghanistan
Schools: Norwood High (2002)
Military history: 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, Grafenwoehr, Germany.
Date of death: Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Death details: Died in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. No information provided by Department of Defense.
Source: Department of Defense, Patriot Ledger, Military Times
Anthony Palermo, age 26, from Brockton, Massachusetts, Plymouth county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Hhc, 1St Battalion, 18Th Infantry, Schweinfurt, Gm
Date of death: Friday, April 6, 2007
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Massachusetts Soldiers Legacy Fund
Bruce Edward Martin, age 18, from Brockton, Massachusetts, Plymouth county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, February 22, 1970
Death details: Hostile, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives
Robert Leon Boss, age 20, from Plymouth County Brockton, Massachusetts .
Parents: Leon W. Boss
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Brockton High graduate
Date of death: Friday, May 6, 1966
Death details: Hostile, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Boston Globe (1966)
William Francis Mullen, age 31, from Plymouth County Brockton, Massachusetts .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, April 29, 1966
Death details: Captain William Francis Mullen, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Massachusetts, was a member of the Marine Wing Headquarters Group 1, Marine Wing Headquarters Group 1, 1st Marine Air Wing. On April 29, 1966, he piloted a single-seat A-4E Skyhawk (bureau number 151047, call sign “Oxwood 93”) as part of a three-plane bombing mission near Ban Karai Pass, Laos. Witnesses from other aircraft on the mission reported that Capt Mullen’s Skyhawk was hit by anti-aircraft fire while making its run over the target. The other two aircraft then flew into a cloud formation and lost sight of Capt Mullen’s aircraft, and did not see him during the flight to the rendezvous point. Attempts to contact Capt Mullen by radio were unsuccessful, and a crash site was not located. He was not seen or heard from again, and subsequent attempts to locate his remains have been unsuccessful. While in missing in action, Capt Mullen was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel (LtCol). Today, Lieutenant Colonel Mullen is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
William David Frawley, age 27, from Brockton, Massachusetts, Plymouth county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: March 1, 1966
Death details: On March 1, 1966, an F-4 Phantom II (bureau number 150443, call sign “Taproom 310”) carrying two crew members launched from the USS Ranger (CVA 61) for an armed reconnaissance mission along the North Vietnam coast. It was one of a flight of three aircraft, and the fighters encountered deteriorating weather. After reversing their flight course, visual contact was not established with “Taproom 310,” and the aircraft was not heard from again. The crew of the second aircraft in the flight noticed a surface to air missile (SAM) warning, but no SAMs were seen or reported as fired. Search and rescue teams found no sign of the missing “Taproom 310” or its crew.
Lieutenant William David Frawley, who joined the U.S. Navy from Massachusetts, served with Fighter Squadron 143 aboard the Ranger. He was the pilot of this Phantom when it disappeared, and his remains were not recovered.
Source: National Archives, Military Times, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Frank B. Mann, age 22, from Plymouth County Brockton, Massachusetts .
Parents: Ellis Mann
Spouse: Elizabeth Mann
Children: Robin Mann, 10 months
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, June 3, 1963
Death details: Killed in the crash of a military chartered airline in the Gulf of Alaska
Source: Associated Press (1963), Boston Globe (1963)
George Lester Fisher from Brockton, Massachusetts, Plymouth county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 30, 1950
Death details: On the evening of November 27, 1950, a huge Chinese force launched an attack against the U.S. and United Nations (UN) troops stationed in the Chosin Reservoir area in north-east North Korea. The resulting seventeen-day conflict became known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. After a fierce defense, U.S. and UN forces attempted to withdraw south from the Chosin Reservoir to the port of Hungnam. A single seventy-eight-mile roadway connecting the reservoir to Hungnam offered the only retreat route, and the withdrawing men faced significant enemy resistance as they traveled down it, attempting to avoid encirclement. After suffering heavy casualties, the U.S. and UN troops eventually broke through Chinese lines and reached Hungnam. Hospital Corpsman Third Class George Lester Fisher, who joined the U.S. Navy from Massachusetts, was attached to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He was one of the relatively few men with Company E who survived the battle for Hill 1282 during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, but was killed in action on November 30, 1950, after his company withdrew off the hill and reached the road to Hagaru-ri. He was reportedly buried by fellow unit members on the east side of the road in the vicinity of Hill 1542; however, his remains could not be located or identified following the war. Today, Hospital Corpsman Third Class Fisher is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
John Russell Johnson, age 23, from Brockton, Massachusetts, Plymouth county.
Spouse: Eleanor Louise Johnson
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency