Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Nickolas Lee Hopper, age 27, from Montrose, Illinois, Effingham county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: L Co, 2D Laad Bn, Macg-28, 2D Maw, Mcas Cherry Point, Nc
Date of death: Saturday, September 8, 2007
Death details: Hostile; Havelock, United States
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Christopher Brian Donaldson, age 28, from Effingham, Illinois, Effingham county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Co B, 3D Bn Gsab, 10Th Aviation Regiment, (Tf Centaur), Fort Drum, New York
Date of death: Friday, May 5, 2006
Death details: Kunar Province, Afghanistan
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Duane Crum, age 38, from Altamont, Illinois, Effingham county.
Parents: Elnora and stepfather I. L. Trigleth
Spouse: Pok Nyo
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, August 12, 1971
Death details: Non-hostile in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Decatur Herald and Review (1971)
Nicholas Eugene Thoele, age 19, from Teutopolis, Illinois, Effingham county.
Parents: Maurice J. Thoele
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, May 24, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives
Robert R. Manuel, age 43, from Effingham County Illinois.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, January 9, 1945
Death details: On December 13, 1944, Japanese forces in the Philippines began the transfer of 1,621 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) to Japan. The POWs were to make the journey aboard transport ships whose harsh conditions and extreme overcrowding led survivors to refer to them as “Hell Ships.” The ships also lacked markings that would distinguish them from any other military target, causing some of them to be attacked by Allied forces who could not identify them as POW transports. On December 14, 1944, Allied aircraft attacked the first ship, the Oryoku Maru, in Subic Bay in the Philippines, killing many Allied POWs who became lost in the water, sank with the ship, or were washed ashore. Survivors of the bombing were put aboard two other ships, the Enoura Maru and the Brazil Maru, to continue on to Japan. During the journey, while anchored in Takao Harbor, Formosa (present-day Taiwan), the Enoura Maru was attacked by Allied aircraft from the USS Hornet (CV-8), killing Allied POWs who were lost in the water, on board the ship, or on the nearby shore. Survivors of the Enoura Maru bombing were loaded onto the Brazil Maru, and reached Japan on January 30, 1945. As a result of these incidents, Allied POWs were lost in the Philippines, at sea between the Philippines and Taiwan, while anchored in Taiwan, at sea between Taiwan and Japan, and in Japan. The attacks on these POW transports ultimately resulted in a series of death notifications from the Japanese government through the International Red Cross (IRC), and some casualties were given up to five different dates of death at various locations during the transfer. Witness accounts from surviving POWs offer detailed information for a handful of casualties, but the specific dates of loss and/or last-known locations for many of these POWs are based on the most recent reported date of death. Chief Warrant Officer Robert R. Manuel, who entered the U.S. Army from Connecticut, served in the U.S. Army Mine Planter Harrison Unit in the Philippines during World War II. He was taken as a POW following the Japanese invasion and interned in the islands until December 1944, when he was put aboard the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate CWO Manuel was killed several weeks later in the attack on the Enoura Maru; however, these reports often involve information solely furnished by enemy governments, with some casualties given multiple dates of death. Future research may determine that these reports were inaccurate. Chief Warrant Officer Manuel’s remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted for. Today, Chief Warrant Officer Manuel is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Wesley Sylvester Teiffel from Effingham, Illinois, Effingham county.
Parents: John C. Teiffel
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Monday, December 18, 1944
Death details: He was aboard the destroyer USS Hull as it operated as part of the Fast Carrier Strike Force in the Philippine Sea. On December 17, 1944, the Hull was participating in refueling operations when the ships of its fueling group were engulfed by Typhoon Cobra. The Hull lost its ability to steer amid the enormous waves and began taking on water. The Hull eventually took on too much water to stay afloat and rolled and sank shortly before noon, on December 18. Sixty-two crew members were rescued, but a little more than two-hundred crew members were lost in the sinking.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Leonard Michael Weis, age 22, from Teutopolis, Illinois, Effingham county.
Parents: Leonard B. Weis
Service era: World War II
Military history: Uss Canopus (As-9); United States Navy
Date of death: Wednesday, June 3, 1942
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor, with food and water extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves, often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Radioman Third Class Leonard M. Weis entered the U.S. Navy from Illinois and served aboard the USS Canopus (AS-9) anchored off Mariveles in the Philippines during the Japanese invasion. In late February 1942, crew members from the Canopus were evacuated to Corregidor to support the 4th Marine Regiment’s defense of the island. After the American surrender on May 6, 1942, RM3 Weis was taken prisoner and interned at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province, where he died of heart disease on June 3, 1942. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Radioman Third Class Weis is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Keith Warren Tipsword, age 20, from Effingham, Illinois, Effingham county.
Parents: Frank Wiley Tipsword
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: On the morning of December 7, 1941, during the attack on Pearl Harbor, the USS West Virginia (BB-48) was moored outboard from the USS Tennessee (BB-43). Five 18-inch aircraft torpedoes and two armor piercing bombs converted from 16-inch naval shells hit the West Virginia in its port side. The first bomb punctured the ship’s deck, causing it to collapse. The second was a dud, though it ignited aircraft fuel and sent billows of toxic smoke into the air. The enemy bombs and torpedoes killed and wounded many of those on board the battleship. While the extensive damage to the hull caused the West Virginia to sink, the crew’s efforts to keep it from capsizing meant the battleship could be salvaged, and it managed to return to service later in the war. Machinist’s Mate First Class Keith Warren Tipsword, who entered the U.S. Navy from Illinois, was serving aboard the West Virginia at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack. He was lost during the sinking and his remains have not been recovered. Today, Machinist’s Mate First Class Tipsword is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com
Robert England Windle, age 20, from Jacksonville, Illinois, Effingham county.
Parents: W. B. Windle
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency