Ryan L. Crosby, age 39, from Elgin, Illinois.
Parents: Julie McNees
Spouse: Tatiana Crosby (married 19 years)
Children: Annabella, Camilla
Service era: Afghanistan
Date of death: Wednesday, September 8, 2021
Death details: Died from complication from COVID 19.
Source: Defense Department, Altmeyer Funeral Homes
Alex Martinez, age 21, from Elgin, Illinois, Kane county.
Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California.
Date of death: Thursday, April 5, 2012
Death details: Died while conducting combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Dennis Melvin Schultz, age 23, from Elgin, Illinois, Kane county.
Parents: Marvin Schultz
Spouse: Gale Schultz
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Larkin High (1965)
Military history: Medic unit
Date of death: Saturday, March 28, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Chicago Tribune (1970)
Nelson Roger Moore, age 33, from Kane County Elgin, Illinois .
Children: Roger and Mark
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, May 24, 1966
Death details: Hostile, died missing in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Chicago Tribune (1966), Van Nuys News and Valley Green Sheet
Fred Dewane Rosenthal, age 18, from Elgin, Illinois, Kane county.
Service era: Korea
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment
Date of death: Friday, February 2, 1951
Death details: Died of wounds, South Korea
Cemetery: Lake Street Memorial Park, Elgin
Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association
Ervin Philip Gothier, age 19, from Elgin, Illinois, Kane county.
Parents: Alta S. Gothier
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: During the last week of October 1950, Republic of Korea (ROK) Army forces under the control of the U.S. Eighth Army were advancing deep in North Korean territory, approaching the Yalu River on the Chinese-Korean border. Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) struck back in a surprise attack, engaging the ROK 1st and 6th Divisions near Unsan, some sixty miles north of Pyongyang. The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment in the lead, was rushed forward to reinforce the ROK units in the Unsan area. On November 1, the regiment’s 1st Battalion took up positions north of Unsan, while the 2nd Battalion moved to guard the Nammyon River valley west of town, and the 3rd Battalion was placed in reserve at the valley’s southern end. Sergeant Ervin Philip Gothier joined the U.S. Army from Illinois and was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, Company L was near Unsan with the 3rd Battalion when the Battalion was hit by an enemy attack and forced to withdraw. Sergeant Gothier went missing during this incident, though specific details surrounding his loss are unknown. His remains were not recovered following the battle and he was not identified among the remains returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Sergeant Gothier is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Chicago Tribune (1950)
Charles Harvey Martin, age 22, from Kane County Elgin, Illinois .
Parents: Elizabeth Martin
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Friday, September 15, 1944
Death details: In September 1944, American forces launched Operation STALEMATE II, the invasion on Peleliu, an island in Palau. On Sept. 15, the 1st Marine Division came ashore under enemy fire. The following day, Marines secured the island’s airfield despite taking heavy casualties. The battle for Peleliu lasted another two months, as Marines were forced to clear heavily fortified pockets of Japanese resistance across the island. The 1st Marine Division, reinforced by the 81st Infantry Division, slowly advanced north under nearly constant mortar and artillery fire. The invasion of Peleliu had the highest casualty rate of all the amphibious Pacific Island invasions of World War II. Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class Charles Harvey Martin, who entered the U.S. Navy from West Virginia, served with Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. On September 15, 1944, he was serving as medical corpsman attached to Company C, when he was killed while aiding wounded Marines on Peleliu Island. His remains were thought to have been recovered at the time and buried as an “unknown” on Peleliu, but attempts to locate his remains from this area after the war have been unsuccessful. He is still unaccounted-for. Today, Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class Martin is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency