Eagle Sheldon Ray Hawk, age 21, from Grand Forks, North Dakota, Grand Forks county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company C, 1St Bn, 320Th Field Artillery Regiment, Fort Campbell, Ky 42223
Date of death: Saturday, November 15, 2003
Death details: Hostile; Mosul, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Jeffry Jon Olson, age 27, from Grand Forks, North Dakota, Grand Forks county.
Service era: Gulf War
Schools: Air Force Academy graduate
Date of death: Sunday, February 3, 1991
Death details: Died non-battle. B-52 went down in the Indiana Ocean with mechanical trouble
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Department of Defense
Venter Blythe Noel Vande from Grand Forks, North Dakota, Grand Forks county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, April 1, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile death in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives
William Davis Kristjanson from North Dakota, Grand Forks county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, February 26, 1970
Source: National Archives
Martin William Steen, age 30, from Grand Forks County Forman, North Dakota .
Parents: Ethel Steen
Spouse: Rose A.
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: University of North Dakota (1958)
Date of death: Tuesday, May 31, 1966
Death details: Captain Martin William Steen entered the U.S. Air Force from North Dakota and served in the 469th Tactical
Fighter Squadron. On May 31, 1966, he was the pilot of an F-105D Thunderchief (tail number 61-120, call sign
“Cactus 2”) in a flight of four on an armed reconnaissance mission over enemy targets in North Vietnam. After
making a pass over the target, Capt Steen radioed that he had been hit, and that he was unable to control his
aircraft so he would eject. The other pilots observed Capt Steen’s ejection and notified search and rescue aircraft
immediately. A rescue helicopter arrived and lowered a pararescueman to Capt Steen’s landing area, and located
the downed pilot’s parachute and harness in the trees near (GC) 48Q VJ 641 875; however, no sign of Capt Steen
was found and continued search efforts failed to locate him. His remains were never recovered. Following the
incident, the Air Force promoted Capt Steen to the rank of Major (Maj). Today, Major Steen is memorialized on
the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Robert Edwin Swanson, age 18, from Grand Forks County North Dakota.
Parents: Ted Swanson
Service era: Vietnam
Military history: Third Battalion, 3rd Regiment, Third Division
Date of death: Tuesday, October 26, 1965
Death details: He was wounded in Vietnam, evacuated to an Air Force hospital in the Philippines, where he died.
Source: National Archives, Grand Forks Herald (1965), Associated Press (1965)
Darwyn Leonard Hagen from Gilby, North Dakota, Grand Forks county.
Service era: Korea
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment
Date of death: Wednesday, April 16, 1952
Death details: Killed in action, North Korea
Cemetery: Prairie Home, Gilby
Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association
Ronald Wayne Hagen, age 19, from Grand Forks County North Dakota.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Monday, April 30, 1951
Death details: By mid-November 1950, U.S. and Allied forces had advanced to within approximately sixty miles of the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China. On November 25, approximately 300,000 Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) “volunteers” suddenly and fiercely counterattacked after crossing the Yalu. The 2nd Infantry Division, located the farthest north of units at the Chongchon River, could not halt the CCF advance and was ordered to withdraw to defensive positions at Sunchon in the South Pyongan province of North Korea. As the division pulled back from Kunu-ri toward Sunchon, it conducted an intense rearguard action while fighting to break through well-defended roadblocks set up by CCF infiltrators. The withdrawal was not complete until December 1, and the 2nd Infantry Division suffered extremely heavy casualties in the process. Private First Class Ronald Wayne Hagen, who joined the U.S. Army from North Dakota, served with the Headquarters Battery, 82nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces on December 1, 1950, as his unit provided direct fire support to 2nd Infantry Division troops withdrawing south from Kunu-ri to Sunchon, North Korea. He was marched with other prisoners to Camp 5 at Pyoktong, where he died of pneumonia, malnutrition, and dysentery on April 30, 1951. Although his companions buried him near the camp, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Private First Class Hagen is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Orley E. Kjelgren from North Dakota, Grand Forks county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Wednesday, December 22, 1943
Death details: Finding of death
Cemetery: Zachary Taylor National
Source: National Archives, grave marker
Howard Taisey Anderson, age 20, from Grand Forks County Grand Forks, North Dakota .
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.
Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency