Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Michael C. Braden, age 31, from Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, Clinton county.
Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: Division Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.
Date of death: Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Death details: Died in Bagram, Afghanistan.
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Daniel Leroy Myers, age 20, from Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, Clinton county.
Parents: Kenneth L. Myers
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, April 2, 1970
Death details: Hostile, died in South Vietnam.
Source: National Archives, UPI (1970)
John Charles Keiper from Renovo, Pennsylvania, Clinton county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: November 15, 1966
Death details: On November 15, 1966, A U-6A Beaver (tail number 541723, call sign “Lonely Ringer 723”) was on a routine flight carrying one crew member and one passenger from Dong Ha to Da Nang, South Vietnam. En route, the flight ran into inclement weather and soon thereafter radio contact with the aircraft was lost. The aircraft was not seen again, and aerial searches over the next 30 days found no sign of the aircraft or the crew. Both men aboard the aircraft went missing along with the aircraft.
Corporal John Charles Keiper entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Pennsylvania and was a member of Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron 16, Marine Air Group 16, 1st Marine Air Wing. He was the passenger aboard this U-6A and was lost with the aircraft. His remains were not recovered. After the incident, the U.S. Marine Corps promoted Corporal Keiper to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant (GySgt). Today, Gunnery Sergeant Keiper is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Donald Arthur Edwards from Clinton County Pennsylvania.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 30, 1950
Death details: By mid-November 1950, U.S. and Allied forces had advanced to within approximately sixty miles of the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China. On November 25, approximately 300,000 Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) “volunteers” suddenly and fiercely counterattacked after crossing the Yalu. The 2nd Infantry Division, located the farthest north of units at the Chongchon River, could not halt the CCF advance and was ordered to withdraw to defensive positions at Sunchon in the South Pyongan province of North Korea. As the division pulled back from Kunu-ri toward Sunchon, it conducted an intense rearguard action while fighting to break through well-defended roadblocks set up by CCF infiltrators. The withdrawal was not complete until December 1, and the 2nd Infantry Division suffered extremely heavy casualties in the process. Sergeant Donald Arthur Edwards, who joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania, served with the Headquarters, Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces on November 30, 1950, as his unit withdrew from Kunu-ri to Sunchon. He was marched to the Pukchin-Tarigol Valley with a large group of prisoners, and died there of malnutrition and dysentery under the care of an Army doctor. His remains have not been recovered. Sergeant Edwards is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Charles B. Feidler, age 31, from Pennsylvania, Clinton county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 18, 1944
Death details: Killed in action
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
William Reuben McGill from Pennsylvania, Clinton county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Unknown
Death details: On July 5, 1950, Task Force Smith, the first U.S. ground element to engage North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) troops, was defending a position north of Osan, South Korea. The Task Force’s goal was to delay enemy forces by blocking their movement down the road south from Suwon to Taejon, which was a major avenue of advance for the NKPA. That morning, the Task Force was engaged by a column of enemy tanks. The anti-tank weapons that the infantrymen employed were ineffective, and a large number of tanks broke through their position. Task Force Smith was forced to withdraw to the south, suffering heavy casualties in the process. Private First Class William Reuben McGill, who joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania, served with B Company, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. His unit was part of Task Force Smith and he was captured by enemy forces two miles north of Osan. He was marched to the Apex prison camps in North Korea, and died of malnutrition and dysentery at one of the Apex camps in late December 1950. Although he was buried near the camp, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Private First Class McGill is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency