Joshua E. Witsman, age 23, from Covington, Indiana, Fountain county.
Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California.
Date of death: Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Death details: Died while supporting combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Paul Mickle Nolen, age 21, from Kingman, Indiana, Fountain county.
Parents: Lucille C. Berlin
Spouse: None
Children: None
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, April 14, 1971
Death details: Died from injuries suffered in a helicopter crash
Cemetery: Rockfield in Veedersburg, Indiana
Source: National Archives, Richmond Palladium Item (1971), Indiapolis News (1971)
George Curtis Jr. Green, age 20, from Attica, Indiana, Fountain county.
Parents: Mary C. Green
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Attica High graduate
Date of death: Friday, December 4, 1970
Death details: Sergeant George Curtis Green Jr. entered the U.S. Army from Indiana and served with Command and Control Central, 5th Special Forces Group. On December 4, 1970, he was a member of a long rang reconnaissance patrol operating in Laos when it came under attack by enemy forces. During the ensuing firefight, Sergeant Green was hit and killed by enemy fire. Because of the intensity of the enemy attack, the surviving team members were unable to bring his body with them when they were extracted. The area was deep in enemy territory, precluding further attempts to recover Sergeant Green’s body. He remains unaccounted for. Today, Sergeant Green is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Indianapolis News, Associated Press (1970), Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Ronald Eugene Smith, age 30, from Covington, Indiana.
Service era: Vietnam
Military history: Silver Star and Purple Hear
Date of death: Saturday, November 28, 1970
Death details: Sergeant First Class Ronald Eugene Smith entered the U.S. Army from Indiana and served with the 5th Special Forces Group. On November 28, 1970, he was a member of a special forces reconnaissance team on a mission in Laos when it came under attack by a numerically superior enemy force. In the initial contact, SFC Smith was hit by enemy fire. Other team members believed that he was wounded and moved him behind cover, but then discovered that he had in fact been killed. As the enemy attack continued, the surviving team members were forced to break contact and withdraw without SFC Smith’s body. Because the area was deep in hostile territory and contained a heavy enemy presence, friendly forces could not return to search for his body. He remains unaccounted for. Today, Sergeant First Class Smith is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Cemetery: Danville National
Source: National Archives, grave marker, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
James Brazier Booe, age 42, from Veedersburg, Indiana, Fountain county.
Spouse: Leverta LeBlanc Booe
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed board the USS Oklahoma. Accounted for on September 29, 2020
Cemetery: Honolulu Memorial
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency