Christopher A. Wilbur, age 36, from Granite City, Illinois.
Service era: Afghanistan
Date of death: Friday, August 12, 2016
Death details: Died in Kandahar, Afghanistan from a non-combat related injury
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Wilbur, Christopher A.
Mennemeyer, Steven Paul
Army Sergeant
Steven Paul Mennemeyer, age 26, from Granite City, Illinois, Madison county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: 82D Medical Company, Air Ambulance, Fort Riley, Kansas
Date of death: Wednesday, August 9, 2006
Death details: Rutbah, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Dostie, Shawn Christopher
Army Sergeant 1st class
Shawn Christopher Dostie, age 32, from Granite City, Illinois, Madison county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company D, 2D Battalion, 502D Infantry, (Tf Baghdad), Fort Campbell, Ky
Date of death: Friday, December 30, 2005
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Tapp, Newton Lee
Army Private 1st class
Newton Lee Tapp, age 20, from Granite City, Illinois, Madison county.
Parents: Edwin L. Tapp
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Granite City High graduate
Date of death: Tuesday, March 31, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Saint Louis Post Dispatch (1970)
Barnes, Donald Aaron
Army Sergeant
Donald Aaron Barnes, age 40, from Granite City, Illinois, Madison county.
Parents: Minnie Kauffman Barnes and preceded in death by Mirvel Barnes
Spouse: Married
Children: Darlene, 12; Donna, 15
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, March 16, 1962
Death details: Among 93 soldiers aboard a transport plane on a “secret mission” to Vietnam. Wreaths Across America in 2021: “Very little is known about what happened to the plane and its passengers, and due to the circumstance surrounding this mission, the names of those lost have not yet been added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.”
Cemetery: A memorial honoring the lives lost was dedicated in 2021 in Columbia Falls, Maine
Source: Atlanta Counstitution (1962), MauiNow (2021), Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (1962), UPI (1962)
Hancock, Harold Eugene
Marine Corps Private
Harold Eugene Hancock from Granite City, Illinois, Madison county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Wednesday, November 29, 1950
Death details: On the evening of November 27, 1950, a huge Chinese force launched an attack against the U.S. and United Nations (UN) troops stationed in the Chosin Reservoir area in north-east North Korea. The resulting seventeen-day conflict became known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. After a fierce defense, U.S. and UN forces attempted to withdraw south from the Chosin Reservoir to the port of Hungnam. A single seventy-eight-mile roadway connecting the reservoir to Hungnam offered the only retreat route, and the withdrawing men faced significant enemy resistance as they traveled down it, attempting to avoid encirclement. After suffering heavy casualties, the U.S. and UN troops eventually broke through Chinese lines and reached Hungnam. Private Harold Eugene Hancock, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Illinois, served with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He was killed in action on November 29, 1950, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, as Company F defended a prominent hill overlooking Toktong Pass from the CCF. The Marines named the prominence “Fox Hill” in honor of the men who defended it. After the battle, Private Hancock was buried at the base of Fox Hill; however, his remains could not be located or identified following the war. Today, Private Hancock is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency