Todd Donald Olson, age 36, from Loyal, Wisconsin, Clark county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Detachment 1, C Co, 1St Bn, 128Th Infantry (Tf Danger), Neillsville, Wi
Date of death: Monday, December 27, 2004
Death details: Hostile; Tikrit, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Ronald S. Sandel, age 21, from Thorp, Wisconsin, Clark county.
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Thorp High (1964)
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment
Date of death: Monday, October 9, 1967
Death details: Killed by small arms fire, Quang Tin Province
Source: National Archives, Chippewa Herald Telegram (1967), 35th Infantry Regiment Association
James R. Neubauer, age 33, from Clark County Columbia, Wisconsin .
Parents: Mrs. Theodore Twitchell
Service era: Vietnam
Military history: 26th Infantry Division
Date of death: Friday, February 4, 1966
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Capital Times (1966)
Lester Albert Schade, age 27, from Clark County Abbotsford, Wisconsin .
Parents: Richard A. Schade
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, January 9, 1945
Death details: On July 26, 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Captain Lester Albert Schade, missing from World War II. Captain Schade, who entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Wisconsin, served in Company I, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment. On April 8, 1942, Capt Schade was stationed on the east side of the Bataan Peninsula when he received orders to withdraw his men to the island of Corregidor, as the Japanese were sweeping across Bataan. On April 9, before they were able to withdraw, Capt Schade was captured by enemy forces. The Japanese did not start keeping records of their prisoners until after they reached the Prisoner of War (POW) camps; however, it is highly probable Capt Schade was subjected to the 65 mile-long “Bataan Death March.” He was imprisoned in Cabanatuan Prison Camp No. 1 and was later moved to Bilibid Prison. On December 13, 1944, he was loaded into the Oryoku Maru, a POW transport ship, which was used to take Allied POWs back to Japan to be used as laborers. On December 14, 1944, Allied aircraft attacked the Oryoku Maru in Subic Bay in the Philippines, crippling it and forcing prisoners aboard to be transferred to another ship, the Enoura Maru. On January 9, the Enoura Maru was again attacked by Allied aircraft while in Takao Harbor, Taiwan. Capt Schade was killed in this attack. In 1946, American Graves Registration Service personnel excavated a mass grave site near Takao Harbor and recovered the remains of many Allied service members from the Enoura Maru. In 2018, using modern forensic techniques, analysts identified Capt Schade from among these remains.
Cemetery: Remains buried as unknown in Hawaii and in 2017 identified.
Source: National Archives, Wisconsin Public Radio, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Marshfield News Herald (1945)
George Green from Clark County Wisconsin.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, November 16, 1943
Death details: In November 1942, the U.S. Army’s 32nd Infantry Division regained control of Buna, Papua New Guinea, with its goal of neutralizing an enemy threat to Port Moresby and, ultimately, to the Australian mainland itself. The rugged terrain that the soldiers faced was fiercely defended by Japanese troops and included tidal swamplands with a labyrinth of camouflaged trenches and bunkers. In December 1942, when the 32nd Infantry Division was reinforced with Australian soldiers, Buna finally fell to the Allies; however, malaria and other tropical diseases contributed to a high number of casualties and deaths for the 32nd Infantry Division. Private George Green, who joined the U.S. Army from Wisconsin, was a member of the Headquarters Company of the 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division, which took part in the U.S. action on Buna. He was killed in action against the enemy on November 16, 1942, following his unit’s landing on the New Guinea Coast. Private Green’s remains could not be recovered at the time of loss, and attempts to locate them following the end of hostilities were unsuccessful. Today, Private Green is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Leonard G. Rupprecht, age 23, from Clark County Neillsville, Wisconsin .
Parents: Florence Mueller, George Rupprecht
Service era: World War II
Schools: Neillsville High (1939)
Date of death: Monday, November 16, 1942
Death details: In November 1942, the U.S. Army’s 32nd Infantry Division regained control of Buna, Papua New Guinea, with its goal of neutralizing an enemy threat to Port Moresby and, ultimately, to the Australian mainland itself. The rugged terrain that the soldiers faced was fiercely defended by Japanese troops and included tidal swamplands with a labyrinth of camouflaged trenches and bunkers. In December 1942, when the 32nd Infantry Division was reinforced with Australian soldiers, Buna finally fell to the Allies; however, malaria and other tropical diseases contributed to a high number of casualties and deaths for the 32nd Infantry Division. Technician Fifth Grade Leonard G. Rupprecht entered the U.S. Army from Wisconsin and served in the Service Company of the 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division. On November 16, 1942, as part of the Allied efforts to retake Buna, TEC5 Rupprecht and his unit were aboard a trawler that was close to shore en route to the village of Hariko in southeastern Australian New Guinea. During their journey, the trawler was strafed by a number of Japanese aircraft. After the attack began, TEC5 Rupprecht and three other individuals boarded an assault boat in an attempt to reach shore; however, the men were not seen again, and the boat was found empty roughly a half mile away. All four of the boat’s occupants, including TEC5 Rupprecht, are believed to have died while attempting to reach shore in the assault boat, and their remains were never recovered. Today, Technician Fifth Grade Rupprecht is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Marshfield News Herald (1943)
Lawrence Anton Boxrucker, age 24, from Dorchester, Wisconsin, Clark county.
Parents: John Boxrucker
Service era: World War II
Military history: United States Navy; Purple Heart
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Died aboard the USS Oklahoma. Accounted for June 12, 2008.
Cemetery: Honolulu Memorial
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Lawrence Anton Boxrucker, age 24, from Clark County Dorchester, Wisconsin .
Parents: John Boxrucker
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Died aboard the USS Oklahoma. Accounted for June 12, 2008.
Cemetery: Honolulu Memorial
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Raymond M. Firnstahl, age 24, from Colby, Wisconsin, Clark county.
Service era: World War I
Date of death: Wednesday, October 9, 1918
Death details: Died of accident
Cemetery: Saint Marys Catholic, Colby
Source: Soldiers of the Great War, findagrave.com