James Jr. Portwood, age 22, from Lexington, Kentucky, Fayette county.
Parents: James Portwood
Spouse: Linda G. Portwood
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, May 14, 1970
Source: National Archives
Portwood, James Jr.
Kaufman, Thomas Jay
Army Private 1st class
Thomas Jay Kaufman, age 22, from Lexington, Kentucky, Fayette county.
Parents: Mrs. John Little, T. J. Kaufman
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Pleasure Ridge Park High (1965), Johns Hopkins Univeristy (1969)
Date of death: Friday, May 1, 1970
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Louisville Courier-Journal (1970)
Case, James Russell
Army Specialist 4
James Russell Case, age 22, from Lexington, Kentucky, Fayette county.
Spouse: Lynn Adams Case
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Lafayette High graduate
Military history: 123rd Aviation Battalion
Date of death: Friday, April 24, 1970
Death details: Died in an accident at an air base.
Source: National Archives, Lexington Herald (1970)
Dobson, Cecil Lee
Army Specialist 4
Cecil Lee Dobson, age 23, from Lexington, Kentucky, Fayette county.
Spouse: Barbara Lunsford Dobson
Children: Step children Judy Gayle and Robert Steven Noe
Service era: Vietnam
Military history: 101st Airborne Infantry, 23rd Division
Date of death: Saturday, March 14, 1970
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Lexington Leader (1970)
Morrison, Joseph Castleman
Air Force Colonel
Joseph Castleman Morrison from Lexington, Kentucky, Fayette county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, November 25, 1968
Death details: On November 25, 1968, an F-4D Phantom II (tail number 66-7523, call sign “Grommet 02”) with two crew members took off with a reconnaissance aircraft on a mission over North Vietnam. While over the target area, the F-4D radioed that it had been hit and crashed soon after. The reconnaissance aircraft aborted the mission immediately but did not see the Phantom crash; however, the reconnaissance aircraft did detect a steady rescue beeper and directed search and rescue aircraft to the area. Search teams located the crash site and made voice contact with the crew but were driven off by small arms fire. Bad weather complicated search efforts in the following days, and by the time searchers arrived on the ground, neither of the Phantom’s crew members could be located.
Major Joseph Castleman Morrison entered the U.S. Air Force from Kentucky and served in the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. He was the aircraft commander aboard the Phantom when it was shot down, and is still unaccounted for. Following the incident, the Air Force promoted Maj Morrison to the rank of Colonel (Col). Today, Colonel Morrison is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Madison, William Louis
Air Force Chief master sergeant
William Louis Madison, age 31, from Fayette County Lexington, Kentucky .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, May 15, 1966
Death details: On November 24, 1999, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Chief Master Sergeant William Louis Madison, missing from the Vietnam War. Chief Master Sergeant Madison entered the U.S. Air Force from Kentucky and was a member of the 4th Air Commando Squadron. He served as a gunner on board an AC-47D Spooky (serial number 43-49546) on an armed reconnaissance mission departing from Da Nang Air Base in South Vietnam. While operating over Laos, the Spooky was shot down by enemy forces and CMSgt Madison was killed. Hostile presence in the area prevented immediate recovery efforts. In 1997, a joint investigative team recovered remains which were later identified as those of CMSgt Madison. Chief Master Sergeant Madison is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Associated Press (1999)
Otten, Floyd L.
Army Sergeant
Floyd L. Otten, age 32, from Kentucky, Fayette county.
Service era: World War II
Military history: Air Corps
Date of death: Monday, September 4, 1944
Death details: Died, non-battle
Cemetery: Zachary Taylor National
Source: National Archives, grave marker
Johnson, Edgar Riley
Marines Reserves Private 1st class
Edgar Riley Johnson, age 22, from Lexington, Kentucky, Fayette county.
Parents: Edgar R. Johnson
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: From November 20 through 23, 1943, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy conducted a large-scale amphibious assault on the Japanese-held atoll of Tarawa as part of Operation Galvanic, the Allied capture of the Gilbert Islands. Located 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, Tarawa was a crucial stepping stone in the planned U.S. offensive across the central Pacific toward Japan. The Japanese garrison on Tarawa’s main island of Betio was well-entrenched with hundreds of bunkers and gun positions behind formidable beach obstacles. The first wave of Marines approaching the shore encountered lower-than-expected tides, forcing them to leave their landing craft on the reef and wade the hundreds of yards to the beach under intense enemy fire. The heaviest number of U.S. casualties were suffered during this phase of the landing. Eventually, rising tides allowed U.S. warships to maneuver closer to shore and support the troops with effective naval gunfire. More Marines landed on the second day, launching attacks inland from the beaches and seizing the Japanese airfield on the island. However, the enemy launched vicious counterattacks and two more days of intense fighting were needed to secure Betio. The last enemy strongpoints were taken on the morning of November 23. The fighting on Betio cost the Marines nearly 3,000 casualties but enabled U.S. forces to press further across the Pacific and yielded valuable tactical lessons that reduced U.S. losses in future amphibious landings. Private First Class Edgar Riley Johnson entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Kentucky and served in Company L, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action on November 20, 1943, during the Battle of Tarawa. Private First Class Johnson was buried on Betio in Cemetery #33, Main Marine Cemetery, but his remains could not be identified among those disinterred from the island after the war. Today, Private First Class Johnson is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Dean, Oscar
Army Sergeant
Oscar Dean from Kentucky, Fayette county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, October 11, 1942
Death details: Died, non-battle
Cemetery: Zachary Taylor National
Source: National Archives, grave marker