Gregg Allison Smith, age 18, from Great Valley, New York, Cattarauqus county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, July 31, 1970
Death details: Hostile, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Sayre Evening Times (1970)
Ricky J. Hills, age 20, from Perrysburg, New York, Cattarauqus county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, July 29, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Canandaigua Daily Messenger (1970)
Charles E. Jr. Harrison, age 24, from Kill Buck, New York, Cattarauqus county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, July 26, 1970
Death details: Hostile, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives
Arnold Lee Robbins, age 31, from Salamanca, New York, Cattarauqus county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, May 15, 1970
Death details: Hostile, Cambodia
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Keith Koy Franklin, age 19, from Salamanca, New York, Cattarauqus county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, May 12, 1970
Death details: Hostile, Cambodia. Keith left a letter for his parents to open if he died. “If you are reading this letter, you will never see me again,” he wrote. “If you are reading this it means that I have died. The question now is whether or not my death has been in vain. My answer is yes.”
Source: National Archives, Ithaca Journal (1970)
Francis Earl Waterman, age 22, from Versailles, New York, Cattarauqus county.
Parents: Edith Kennedy
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: From November 20 through 23, 1943, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy conducted a large-scale amphibious assault on the Japanese-held atoll of Tarawa as part of Operation Galvanic, the Allied capture of the Gilbert Islands. Located 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, Tarawa was a crucial stepping stone in the planned U.S. offensive across the central Pacific toward Japan. The Japanese garrison on Tarawa’s main island of Betio was well-entrenched with hundreds of bunkers and gun positions behind formidable beach obstacles. The first wave of Marines approaching the shore encountered lower-than-expected tides, forcing them to leave their landing craft on the reef and wade the hundreds of yards to the beach under intense enemy fire. The heaviest number of U.S. casualties were suffered during this phase of the landing. Eventually, rising tides allowed U.S. warships to maneuver closer to shore and support the troops with effective naval gunfire. More Marines landed on the second day, launching attacks inland from the beaches and seizing the Japanese airfield on the island. However, the enemy launched vicious counterattacks and two more days of intense fighting were needed to secure Betio. The last enemy strongpoints were taken on the morning of November 23. The fighting on Betio cost the Marines nearly 3,000 casualties but enabled U.S. forces to press further across the Pacific and yielded valuable tactical lessons that reduced U.S. losses in future amphibious landings. Private First Class Francis Earl Waterman entered the U.S. Marine Corps from New York and served in Company K, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, at the time of the assault on Tarawa. He was killed in action on November 20, 1943 and was buried in Cemetery #33, but after the war his remains were not located. He is still unaccounted-for. Today, Private First Class Waterman is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency