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
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
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
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)
Loren Eugene Bradley, age 20, from Madison County Granite City, Illinois .
Parents: John W. Bradley
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Granite City High
Date of death: Friday, April 29, 1966
Death details: Hostile, died from wounds suffered the same day in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Belleville News Democrat (1966)
John Bernard Causey, age 28, from Madison County Granite City, Illinois .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, February 25, 1966
Death details: On February 25, 1966, an RB-66C Destroyer (tail number 54-0457) carrying six crew members took off on a combat mission over Vinh, North Vietnam. During the mission, an enemy surface-to-air missile damaged the aircraft. The aircraft headed out to sea and a mayday call was initiated. The crew was forced to eject over the Gulf of Tonkin. Search and rescue efforts were made and five survivors were rescued in the vicinity of (GC) 48Q YE 547 565; however, one crew member could not be located. Captain John Bernard Causey entered the U.S. Air Force from Illinois and was a member of the 41st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. He was the electronic warfare supervisor aboard this Destroyer when it was lost on February 25, 1966, and he was the crew member who could not be located following the incident. Further search efforts were unable to locate him and he remains unaccounted-for. Today, Captain Causey is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC. Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Gene E. Chepely, age 20, from Madison County Granite City, Illinois .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, February 7, 1966
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, UPI (1966)
Robert Edward Emery, age 20, from Madison County Granite City, Illinois .
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Granite City High
Date of death: Thursday, December 9, 1965
Death details: Died from head wounds recived in fighting in the Chu Lai area
Source: National Archives, Belleville News Democrat (1965)
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)
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