Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Eric A. Pulliam, age 19, from Saint Clair County East Saint Louis, Illinois .
Parents: Irene Henry
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, Belleville News Democrat (1983)
Elroy Simmons, age 21, from East Saint Louis, Illinois, Saint Clair county.
Spouse: Barbara J. Simmons
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, July 19, 1970
Death details: Hostile, died from wounds in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Chicago Tribune (1970)
George Oliver Wilkerson from East Saint Louis, Illinois, Saint Clair county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, June 9, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in Cambodia
Source: National Archives
Wayne Ellsworth Newberry from East St. Louis, Illinois, St. Clair county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, September 29, 1968
Death details: Captain Wayne Ellsworth Newberry, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Illinois, was a member of the 6th Special Operations Squadron. On September 29, 1968, he piloted an A-1H Skyraider (serial number 52-135305) on a two-plane combat mission over Saravane Province, Laos. While over the target area, his Skyraider was shot down by enemy fire. Witnesses do not report seeing him bail out of the aircraft before it crashed, and enemy presence in the area prevented investigation of the crash site. Attempts to locate him or his remains following the end of hostilities have been unsuccessful. Today, Captain Newberry is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Ralph Burton Cobbs, age 48, from East St. Louis, Illinois, Saint Clair county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, June 17, 1966
Death details: On June 17, 1966, a C-130E Hercules (tail number 63-7785) carrying fourteen service members took off from Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam, en route to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. Approximately twenty minutes after take-off, the Hercules exploded for unknown reasons and crashed into the South China Sea. Nearby ships witnessed the incident and quickly arrived on the scene to assist in rescue operations, and recovered the remains of two service members. However, twelve individuals who were aboard the aircraft were lost during the incident and remain unaccounted-for. Lieutenant Commander Ralph Burton Cobbs entered the U.S. Navy from Illinois and was a member of Air Transport Squadron 7. He was a crew member aboard this Hercules when it crashed, and his remains could not be recovered following the incident. Today, Lieutenant Commander Cobbs is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency