Roy D. Jr. Brown, age 19, from Buena Park, California, Orange county.
Parents: Julie Otto
Service era: Operation Just Cause Panama
Military history: 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger regiment, Fort Benning, Georgia
Date of death: Wednesday, December 20, 1989
Death details: Killed by friendly fire
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Arlington National Cemetery, Los Angeles Times
Paul Clark Stewart from Buena Park, California, Orange county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, February 8, 1971
Death details: On February 8, 1971, a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 68-16307, call sign “Chalk 03”) carrying four crew and an unspecified number of South Vietnamese Army passengers took part in a ten-aircraft insertion mission in Laos. As the formation flew to the drop-off point, “Chalk 03” radioed to the flight leader that it had taken damage from enemy ground fire, and was returning to the pickup zone. “Chalk 03” crashed and exploded in the vicinity of (GC) XD 582 368 during its return flight. Search and rescue teams located the wreckage and recovered six sets of remains identifiable as those of Vietnamese passengers, as well as four badly burned sets of remains. Three of these burned remains were later identified as U.S. service members, while the fourth was identified as another Vietnamese passenger. The remains of the fourth U.S. crew member from “Chalk 03” have not been recovered, and he is still unaccounted for.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Paul Clark Stewart, who joined the U.S. Army from California, was a member of Company C, 158th Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. He was the aircraft commander aboard “Chalk 03” when it went down, and was lost with the aircraft. His remains have not been recovered. Today, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Stewart is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Theodore Frank Bedra, age 20, from Buena Park, California, Orange county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, August 26, 1970
Death details: Body recovered
Source: National Archives, Eureka Times Standard (1970)
Sammy Jr. Burrola, age 21, from Buena Park, California, Orange county.
Service era: Vietnam
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment
Date of death: Wednesday, September 25, 1968
Death details: Silver Star citation: For gallantry in action while engaged in military operations against an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam. Specialist Four Burrola distinguished himself while serving as a Machine Gunner with Company C, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division. On 25 September 1968, Specialist Burrola’s company was securing its perimeter when the company started receiving sniper fire. When they returned the enemy fire, the tempo of the attack increased with the enemy using machine gun, rocket, and grenade fire. Specialist Burrola was effectively suppressing the enemy fire when he saw a wounded comrade exposed to intense enemy fire. With complete disregard for his own safety, he dashed to the man and carried him to a position of relative safety. Later, while attempting to resupply his machine gun position, Specialist Burrola was mortally wounded by shrapnel from an exploding enemy rocket. Specialist Four Burrola’s courageous acts, profound concern for his fellow man, and exemplary devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
Cemetery: Glen Haven Memorial Park, San Bernadino
Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association