Erik Ryan Heldt, age 26, from Hermann, Missouri, Gasconade county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: C Co, 1St Bn, 5Th Mar, (2-Bct, 2D Mar Div), 1St Mar Div, Camp Pendleton, California
Date of death: Thursday, June 16, 2005
Death details: Killed when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operation in Ar Ramadi, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Willard Gene Storie, age 33, from Owensville, Missouri, Gasconade county.
Spouse: Delores M. Storie
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, November 24, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile in South Vietnam.
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Samuel Louis Roberson, age 20, from Bland, Missouri, Gasconade county.
Parents: Eva R. Dittman
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, April 4, 1970
Death details: Hostile in South Vietnam.
Source: National Archives, The Kansas City Times
Steven Neil Bezold, age 24, from McKittrick, Missouri, Gasconade county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, October 29, 1968
Death details: On October 29, 1968, an O-1G Bird Dog (tail number 57-6027) with a crew of two took part in a two-plane artillery adjustment mission over the Demilitarized Zone in between North and South Vietnam. During the mission, the Bird Dog was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed. No parachutes were seen to emerge from the aircraft before it went down. Search and rescue teams were launched the next day, but intense hostile fire in the area prevented them from reaching the crash site. Both members of the Bird Dog’s crew remain unaccounted for.
First Lieutenant Steven Neil Bezold, who joined the U.S. Army from Missouri, was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 94th Artillery Regiment, 108th Artillery Group. He was serving as observer aboard the Bird Dog when it went down, and was lost with the aircraft. His remains have not been located or identified. Following the incident, the Army promoted 1LT Bezold to the rank of Captain (CPT). Today, Captain Bezold is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Wilbur Albert Kirchhoff, age 26, from Gasconade County Rosebud, Missouri .
Parents: Albert F. Kirchhoff
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.
Source: National Archives, Saint Louis Post Dispatch (1941)