Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Leandro A. S. Jasso, age 25, from Leavenworth, Washington, Chelan County
Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington
Date of death: Sunday, November 24, 2018
Death details: Accidentally shot by Afghan partner force
Source: Department of Defense, WSMV, Army Times, Military Times
Vernon Glen Zornes, age 19, from Chelan, Washington, Chelan county.
Parents: Betty J. Lutz
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, November 23, 1970
Death details: Killed in action in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Spokesman Review (1970)
Dennis Wade Neal, age 23, from Wenatchee, Washington, Chelan county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, April 15, 1970
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Dennis Newman Pipkin, age 21, from Cashmere, Washington, Chelan county.
Spouse: Linda Pipkin
Children: Richard, 8 months
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, April 2, 1970
Death details: Killed in Vietnam by a land mine.
Source: National Archives, Cashmere Valley Record (1970)
Richard Alonzo Daniel from Washington, Chelan county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Tuesday, October 31, 1950
Death details: On July 11, 1950, the U.S. Army’s 21st Infantry Regiment, which had arrived in Korea six days earlier, was placed in defensive positions near the town of Chochiwon, South Korea. The regiment was not at full strength and lacked artillery and anti-tank weapons. That day, they were attacked by North Korean forces and were forced to withdraw to avoid being surrounded, as well as to buy time until they could be reinforced and resupplied. Private First Class Richard Alonzo Daniel, who joined the U.S. Army from Washington, served with L Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces on July 11 near Chochiwon and was forced to march north to the Apex prison camps in North Korea. He died of exhaustion and pneumonia on October 31 at “the Cornfield,” a temporary prison camp near Manpo, North Korea. His remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Private First Class Daniel is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Robert Alfred Moon, age 21, from Wenatchee, Washington, Chelan county.
Parents: Minnie Moon
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. Sergeant Robert Alfred Moon, who entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Washington, served with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was wounded during the Battle of Tarawa on November 20, 1943, and evacuated to an unspecified location. However, there were no further reports as to his whereabouts, and he was never recorded as being treated at any hospital or aid station. Further attempts to locate him were unsuccessful and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Sergeant Moon is memorialized in the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
William V. Wright, age 22, from Washington, Chelan county.
Service era: World War II
Military history: 30 Bombardment Squadron 19 Bombardment Group (Heavy)
Date of death: Wednesday, July 1, 1942
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor, with food and water extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves, often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Technician Fifth Grade William V. Wright entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Washington and served in the 30th Bombardment Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of dysentery on July 1, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Technician Fifth Grade Wright is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Joseph Byron Sousley from Chelan County Wenatchee, Washington .
Parents: Mr. John Quincy Sousley
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Utah
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Honolulu Star Advertiser (2016)