Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Derek Anthony Dobogai, age 26, from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Fond Du Lac county.
Service era: Iraq
Schools: Western Illinois University graduate
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment
Date of death: Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Death details: Among 14 soldiers killed in a Black Hawk helicopter crash in northern Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, 35th Infantry Regiment Association
John Oliver Tollefson, age 22, from Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, Fond Du Lac county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: 411Th Military Police Company, Fort Hood, Texas
Date of death: Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Death details: Hostile; Ashraf, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Marc Ian Nieto, age 24, from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac county.
Service era: War on Terror
Date of death: Thursday, October 12, 2000
Death details: Died aboard the U.S.S. Cole when suicide bombers detonated an explosive-laden boat against the ship’s port side, tearing a 40-by-40-foot hole in the hull and sending seawater gushing into the engineering compartment.
Source: Department of Defense
Thomas Francis Shaw, age 24, from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac county.
Parents: Frank L. Shaw
Spouse: Ann (Kremer)
Children: Thomas Shaw Jr., 1
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: St. Mary’s Springs Academy (1966); St. Norbert College
Date of death: Thursday, April 27, 1972
Death details: Killed when his Huey helicopter crashed during a mission where he was flying troops and supplies to fire bases in South Vietnam
Cemetery: Calvary in Fond du Lac
Source: National Archives, findagrave.com, Fond du Lac Reporter (1972)
Robert Joseph Muellenbach, age 26, from Malone, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, August 5, 1970
Source: National Archives
Ronald Henry Reilly from Ripon, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, July 16, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile death
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Richard Russell Timmons, age 20, from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac county.
Parents: R.S. and Fern Adler Timmons (father preceded in death)
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Goodrich High (1968)
Date of death: Thursday, July 16, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile death in Vietnam
Cemetery: Calvary
Source: National Archives, Fond du Lac Reporter (1970)
Thomas William Damm, age 22, from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac county.
Parents: Lester Damm
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Goodrich High (1965), University of Wisconsin
Date of death: Tuesday, July 7, 1970
Death details: Died in a helicopter crash during a combat mission in Vietnam.
Source: National Archives, Fon du Lac Reporter (1970)
Ronald Ernest Pickart, age 20, from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, January 8, 1970
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Edward John Bucholtz, age 31, from Wisconsin, Fond du Lac county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Wednesday, November 29, 1950
Death details: On November 29, 1950, men from Company G of the U.S. 1st Marine Regiment, MP Company and Tank Company, 1st Marine Division, Company B and elements of Company D of the 31st Infantry Regiment, Headquarters Company of the X Corps, and Royal Marines from Number 41 Independent Commando Battalion were sent north from Koto-ri to open the main supply route to Hagaru-ri and resupply and reinforce Allied troops that had been surrounded near the Chosin Reservoir. The group, known as Task Force Drysdale, set out with tanks and other vehicles in the lead and rear, and initially only met light resistance from Chinese Communist Forces (CCF). As attacks increased in ferocity, the group became fragmented as the CCF managed to establish road blocks that further split the task force. Soon, the CCF blew a bridge and halted the convoy altogether. The Royal Marines and most of Company G were north of the bridge at this time and were able to continue to Hagaru-ri. Near the south end of the convoy, a destroyed truck blocked the road. The tanks and troops south of the destroyed truck fought as long as possible before ultimately returning to Koto-ri on November 30. The men between the blown bridge and the destroyed truck, however, were trapped, and subjected to several mortar barrages before CCF moved into hand-to-hand combat range. Fighting raged there until the morning of November 30, when the survivors were forced to surrender. Over 300 troops were wounded, captured, or died during the action. Master Sergeant Edward John Bucholtz entered the U.S. Army from Wisconsin and served in Headquarters Company, X Corps. He went missing during Task Force Drysdale’s drive from Koto-ri to Hagaru-ri, though specific details regarding his loss are unknown. No one saw him fall, and he was never reported as a prisoner of war. Attempts to locate or identify his remains following the war have been unsuccessful. Today, Master Sergeant Bucholtz is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency