Thomas P. Thorstad, age 27, from Porter County Chesterton, Indiana .
Parents: James Thorstad and Barbara Thorstad
Spouse: Kathleen Thorstad
Children: Ages 2 and 4
Service era: Beirut bombings
Date of death: Sunday, October 23, 1983
Death details: Among more than 200 military personnel killed in the terroist bombing of Marine headquarters in Beirut.
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Daily Herald
Larry Allan Rippe, age 21, from Chesterton, Indiana, Porter county.
Parents: Karl H. Rippe
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, May 27, 1970
Death details: Hostile in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Richmond Palladium Item (1970)
Donald Joseph Trampski from Chesterton, Indiana.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: September 16, 1969
Death details: Private First Class (PFC) Donald Joseph Trampski entered the U.S. Army from Indiana and served in Company B, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. On September 16, 1969, he was serving as a rifleman with his unit on a patrol in South Vietnam. As his unit was crossing a Montagnard bridge near grid coordinates AR 888 138 during a heavy rainstorm, PFC Trampski lost his footing and fell into the river below. The river was swollen with a fast current, and PFC Trampski was seen swimming in the water near the bridge. His unit moved to the river banks to assist him but he was not seen again. Subsequent searches for him or his remains were unsuccessful. Following the incident, the Army promoted PFC Trampski to the rank of staff sergeant. Today, Staff Sergeant Trampski is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency