Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Alessandro L. Plutino, age 28, from Pitman, New Jersey, Gloucester county.
Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 1st Battalion, 75h Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia
Date of death: Monday, August 8, 2011
Death details: Died in Paktia Province of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire.
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Salvatore S. Corma, age 24, from Wenonah, New Jersey, Gloucester county.
Spouse: U.S. Military Academy at West Point (2008)
Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Date of death: Thursday, April 29, 2010
Death details: Died at Forward Operating Base Bullard, Afghanistan of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using improvised explosive devices.
Source: Department of Defense, Associated Press, Military Times
David John III Bentz, age 20, from Newfield, New Jersey, Gloucester county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company B, 1St Battalion, 64Th Armor, Fort Stewart, Georgia
Date of death: Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Sean Patrick Kelly, age 23, from Pitman, New Jersey, Gloucester county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: C Co, 1St Bn, 3D Mar, (31St Meu, 1St Mar Div), 3D Mar Div, Kaneohe Bay, Hi
Date of death: Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Death details: Korean Village, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Alan B. Cheeseman, age 25, from Wenham, New Jersey, Gloucester county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, August 13, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in Thailand
Robert William Elliott, age 24, from Woodbury, New Jersey, Gloucester county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, August 9, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Dennis Philip Martin, age 21, from Swedesboro, New Jersey, Gloucester county.
Parents: Prime Martin
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Saint Joseph’s Parochial School, Kinglsey High graduate, Mississippi State University
Date of death: Sunday, February 22, 1970
Death details: Killed in South Vietnam when his tank ran over a land mine.
Source: National Archives, Courier Post (1970)
James David Hagelstein, age 20, from Glassboro, New Jersey, Gloucester county.
Parents: Fred Hagelstein
Spouse: Grace
Children: James Jr.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, February 14, 1970
Death details: Killed by small Arms fire in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Vineland Daily Journal (1970)
John Joseph Horner, age 27, from Swedesboro, New Jersey, Gloucester county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Tuesday, October 23, 1951
Death details: On October 23, 1951, a B-29A Superfortress (tail number 44-94045, call sign “Able 1”) departed Kadena Air Base, Japan, carrying thirteen crew members on a bombing mission targeting Namsi Air Field in northwest North Korea. “Able 1” flew as a part of a strike force that included ten B-29s with fighter support. As the formation approached the target, it was attacked by anti-aircraft artillery fire and MiG-15 fighters. Just after “Able 
1″ completed its bombing run, it was hit in the right wing fuel tank, causing an explosion with a large amount of smoke. The damaged aircraft was flying under control but was losing altitude, and it eventually crashed on a mud flat near the island of Sinmi-Do. Initial searches that continued until October 26, failed to locate the missing Superfortress or its crew. On October 29, a United Nations Partisan Infantry Korea (UNPIK) team discovered the aircraft’s wreckage along with the remains of the radio operator and navigator, but the increasing enemy activity and the rising tide in the area prevented further recovery efforts that day. Returning the next day, UNPIK discovered that one set of these remains had washed away. However, the team collected another body, which they removed for temporary burial on the island of Oesun-Do. In early November 1951, the remains of a third body that was believed to be the radar operator washed ashore on Ho-Do where it was buried by UNPIK forces. Attempts to locate the Oesun-Do an Ho-Do burial sites or recovery of any of the other missing crew remains from the crash site, have been unsuccessful following the war. First Lieutenant John Joseph Horner entered the U.S. Air Force from New Jersey and served with the 371st Bombardment Squadron, 307th Bombardment Wing. He was the pilot of this Superfortress when it was lost. No returning POWs mentioned contact with 1st Lt Horner, nor was he seen at any known holding point, interrogation center, hospital, or permanent POW camp. Today, First Lieutenant Horner is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Irvin Wilbur Pittman from New Jersey, Gloucester county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Tuesday, November 7, 1950
Death details: On July 11, 1950, the U.S. Army’s 21st Infantry Regiment, which had arrived in Korea six days earlier, was placed in defensive positions near the town of Chochiwon, South Korea. The regiment was not at full strength and lacked artillery and anti-tank weapons. That day, they were attacked by North Korean forces and were forced to withdraw to avoid being surrounded, as well as to buy time until they could be reinforced and resupplied. Sergeant Irvin Wilbur Pittman, who joined the U.S. Army from New Jersey, served with Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces north of Chochiwon on July 12, and forced to march north to the Apex prison camps in North Korea. On November 7, close to death from exhaustion and exposure, he was placed on his back on the side of the road at an unknown location. His companions were forced to leave him and continue on. Sergeant Pittman’s remains have not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire, and he is still unaccounted for. Today, Sergeant Pittman is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency