Dahl James LaPorte, age 25, from Chautauqua County Dunkirk, New York .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, August 24, 1965
Death details: Killed when the transport plane he was aboard crashed in Hong Kong.
Source: National Archives, UPI (1965)
Harry Leonard Jr. Kaus, age 18, from Chautauqua County Dunkirk, New York .
Parents: Harry Kaus Sr. and Betty J. Coil
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, August 18, 1965
Death details: Killed in action while fighting at Chu Lai.
Cemetery: Saint Mary’s
Source: National Archives, Buffalo News (1965)
Leonard John Mathers, age 19, from Chautauqua County Dunkirk, New York .
Parents: Ralph J. Mathers
Service era: Korea
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment
Date of death: Tuesday, November 28, 1950
Death details: On November 25, 1950, the U.S. Army 2nd and 25th Infantry Divisions were holding defensive positions south of the town of Unsan, North Korea, below the Yalu River. On November 26 and 27, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) attacked the U.S. troops, pushing them through the towns of Ung-dong and Yongsan-dong, and on to Yongbyon, where they were given orders to establish new defensive lines. Sergeant First Class Leonard John Mathers entered the U.S. Army from New York and served with F Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on November 28, during this withdrawal to Yongbyon. No one saw SFC Mathers fall in battle and he was not reported to be a prisoner of war. His remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Sergeant First Class Mathers is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.
Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Buffalo News (1951)
Francis Kenneth Witherell, age 26, from Chautauqua County Dunkirk, New York .
Parents: Gladys M. Witherell
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Tuesday, August 29, 1950
Death details: On July 28, 1950, members of the 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, were in defensive positions near Kochang, South Korea, west of the Naktong River. They served as part of a defensive formation soon to be known as the Pusan Perimeter, meant to delay the North Korean People’s Army’s (NKPA) advance through South Korea long enough so that reinforcements could arrive at Pusan Harbor. That night, members of the 34th Infantry reported seeing a procession of enemy tanks and infantry assemble behind a roadblock west of Kochang. The next morning, this NKPA force attacked the 34th Infantry positions from two directions. Continuous enemy fire eventually forced the regiment to withdraw to the east; however, Company I was cut off by the NKPA. A counterattack was successful in rescuing all but one platoon from Company I, though many men were killed or went missing during these actions. Corporal Francis Kenneth Witherell entered the U.S. Army from New York and was a member of K Company, 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured during this fighting near Kochang on August 29, 1950. Following his capture, CPL Witherell was marched with other prisoners of war (POWs) toward Pyongyang, North Korea. Repatriated POWs later reported he was killed by a prison guard on October 20 while aboard a POW transport train that was stopped in a tunnel near Sunchon, North Korea. He was buried nearby and later reinterred in the U.N. Military Cemetery at Pyongyang, though he was not identified among the remains returned from this area to the U.S. following the war. He is still unaccounted-for. Today, Corporal Witherell is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Buffalo Courier Express (1950)
Philip E. Niewolak, age 24, from Chautauqua County Dunkirk, New York .
Parents: Stanley Niewolak
Service era: World War II
Schools: Dunkirk High, Fredonia State Teachers College
Date of death: Friday, March 12, 1943
Death details: Killed near Sheridan, Arkansas in the crash of a heavy bomber while on a routine flight.
Source: National Archives, UP (1943), Buffalo News (1943)