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
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
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