Harold Joseph Shea, age 47, from South Hadley Falls, Massachusetts, Hampshire county.
Spouse: Married
Children: Linda and Kathy
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Syracuse Univesity
Military history: ~
Date of death: Sunday, May 31, 1970
Death details: Killed in a helicopter crash in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Abilene Reporter News (1970)
John Arthur Boronski, age 23, from Ware, Massachusetts, Hampshire county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, March 24, 1970
Death details: On February 15, 2001, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant First Class John Arthur Boronski, missing from the Vietnam War.
Sergeant First Class Boronski joined the U.S. Army from Massachusetts and was a member of the 5th Special Forces Group. On March 24, 1970, he was a member of a long-range reconnaissance patrol in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia, that was extracted from the mission area by a UH-1H Iroquois. After picking up the patrol, the Iroquois suffered an explosion that caused it to crash. Sergeant First Class Boronski was killed in the incident. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented ground investigations of the UH-1H’s crash site at the time. In April 1995, a joint U.S. and Vietnamese search team recovered remains associated with the loss of SFC Boronski’s helicopter. In 2001, U.S. analysts identified some of the recovered remains as those of SFC Boronski.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Charles Henry Cummings, age 18, from Hadley, Massachusetts, Hampshire county.
Parents: Albert L. Cummings
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Lee High, Hopkins Academy in Hadley, Smoth Vocational High in Northampton
Military history: 128th Assault Helicopter Division
Date of death: Thursday, March 12, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile, South Vietnam. Died in the crash of a military aircraft.
Cemetery: Hadley
Source: National Archives, UPI (1970), Berkshire Eagle (1970)
Kenneth Henry Drew, age 28, from Massachusetts, Hampshire county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Sunday, December 3, 1950
Death details: On the evening of November 27, 1950, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) launched a massive 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. At the time of the initial CCF attack, members of the U.S. Army’s 31st and 32nd Infantry Regiments were defending the area north of Sinhung-ni, on the east side of the reservoir. The defenders were overwhelmed by the numerically superior CCF, and on December 1 were forced to withdraw to friendly lines at Hagaru-ri. Many men were lost or captured during the withdraw, with survivors reaching friendly lines in Hagaru-ri on December 2 and 3. Once at Hagaru-ri, the survivors of the withdrawal manned a section of the perimeter near East Hill, a strong defensive position overlooking the town. On the night of December 3, the Chinese attacked the Hagaru-ri perimeter and overwhelmed the defenders there. Many Americans were killed or went missing during these actions. Corporal Kenneth Henry Drew, who joined the U.S. Army from Massachusetts, was a member of I Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on December 3, 1950, shortly after the fighting withdrawal from the Chosin Reservoir area. He was never reported as a prisoner of war, and he remains unaccounted for following his loss. Today, Corporal Drew is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Richard John Archambeault, age 20, from Northampton, Massachusetts, Hampshire county.
Parents: Adeline J. Archambeault
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: On April 29, 2014, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant Richard John Archambeault, missing from the Korean War. Sergeant Archambeault entered the U.S. Army from Massachusetts and served with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, members of Company L were occupying a defensive position near Unsan, North Korea, north of a bend in the Kuryong River known as the “Camel’s Head Bend.” That day, elements of the Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) struck the 1st Cavalry Division’s lines, collapsing the perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. SGT Archambeault did not survive this action, though no specific details surrounding his loss are known, and his body was not located or recovered at the time. Between 1991 and 1994, the North Korean government repatriated the remains of a number of U.S. service members; some of the remains correlated to SGT Archambeault’s loss area near Unsan, and U.S. analysts eventually identified SGT Archambeault from these remains.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Daily Hampshire Gazette (2001)
Ralph Milton Jr. Hummel, age 18, from Amherst, Massachusetts, Hampshire county.
Parents: Ralph M. Hummel Sr.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: During the last week of October 1950, Republic of Korea (ROK) Army forces under the control of the U.S. Eighth Army were advancing deep in North Korean territory, approaching the Yalu River on the Chinese-Korean border. Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) struck back in a surprise attack, engaging the ROK 1st and 6th Divisions near Unsan, some sixty miles north of Pyongyang. The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment in the lead, was rushed forward to reinforce the ROK units in the Unsan area. On November 1, the regiment’s 1st Battalion took up positions north of Unsan, while the 2nd Battalion moved to guard the Nammyon River valley west of town, and the 3rd Battalion was placed in reserve at the valley’s southern end. Private First Class Ralph Milton Hummel joined the U.S. Army from Massachusetts and served with Headquarters Company of the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, he was at the Battalion Command Post when his unit came under heavy enemy attack near Unsan, North Korea, and the men were forced to withdraw. He went missing during this fighting withdrawal, though specific details surrounding his loss are unknown. He was never reported as a prisoner of war, and has not been identified among the remains returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Private First Class Hummel is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Pottsville Republican and Herald (1951)