Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Nathan E. Carlson, age 21, from Illinois, Winnebago county.
Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Date of death: Wednesday, June 8, 2022
Death details: Died in a training mission when an MV-22B Osprey crashed in the desert of Southern California
Source: U.S. Marines
William J. Hurley, age 27, from Illinois, Cook county.
Service era: Gulf War
Date of death: Monday, October 8, 1990
Death details: Killed in a training exercise when two helicopters collided over the Arabian Sea
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Department of Defense, Associated Press (1990)
Robert Conder, age 21, from Illinois, Macoupin county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, July 9, 1953
Death details: On July 6, 1953, a large Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) unit attacked and overran the U.S. Army outposts on Pork Chop Hill in an attempt to seize whatever territory possible before the impending armistice agreement. After fighting for the position for four days, on July 10, the 7th Infantry Division Commander determined that the CCF disregard for casualties and desire to hold the outpost outweighed the position’s tactical value, and ordered a withdrawal that was eventually completed on July 11. The U.S. never again controlled Pork Chop Hill, preventing thorough recovery efforts for those who were killed or went missing during the fighting. Private First Class Robert Conder entered the U.S. Army from Illinois and was a member of Company K of the 3rd Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He went missing during the action at Pork Chop Hill on July 9, though exact circumstances surrounding his loss are unknown. He was never reported to be a prisoner of war, and his remains were not identified among those returned to the U.S. following the ceasefire. Today, Private First Class Conder is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Louis Joseph Panacek, age 21, from Illinois, Cook county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Wednesday, July 8, 1953
Death details: On July 6, 1953, a large Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) unit attacked and overran the U.S. Army outposts on Pork Chop Hill in an attempt to seize whatever territory possible before the impending armistice agreement. After fighting for the position for four days, on July 10, the 7th Infantry Division Commander determined that the CCF disregard for casualties and desire to hold the outpost outweighed the position’s tactical value, and ordered a withdrawal that was eventually completed on July 11. The U.S. never again controlled Pork Chop Hill, preventing thorough recovery efforts for those who were killed or went missing during the fighting. Corporal Louis Joseph Panacek, who joined the U.S. Army from Illinois, served with Company E, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He went missing on July 8 as his unit fought Chinese troops for control of Pork Chop Hill. No one saw him fall in battle, and due to conditions on the battlefield a search could not be conducted for him. He was not reported to be a prisoner of war, and his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Corporal Panacek is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Percy E. Jr. Stine, age 20, from Illinois, Cook county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Friday, June 12, 1953
Death details: During the last two years of the Korean War, the opposing forces were arrayed across the 38th Parallel, with neither side able to make much progress into the other’s territory. Both sides maintained forward observer outposts, and these often proved to be targets of opportunity to the opposing force. On June 12, 1953, Battery A of the 987th Armored Field Artillery Battalion was manning an outpost southeast of Kumsong-ni when Chinese Communist Forces began bombarding the outpost with heavy mortar fire. The outpost collapsed, killing the three soldiers inside. Corporal Percy Ellwood Stine Jr., who joined the U.S. Army from Illinois, served with Battery A, 987th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 40th Infantry Division. On June 12 he was serving as the radio telephone operator at this forward observer outpost, and was reported missing in action after the outpost collapsed under enemy shelling. His remains could not be immediately recovered, and after the war they were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody. Today, Corporal Stine is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Tony Ray Leet, age 20, from Illinois, Richland county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Sunday, October 26, 1952
Death details: Remains recovered
Cemetery: Haven Hill in Olney
Source: National Archives, grave marker
Eldon Eugene Fox, age 29, from Illinois, Greene county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, July 26, 1951
Death details: On April 22, 1951, elements of the 24th Infantry Division along with the 5th Regimental Combat Team (RCT) were dug into positions near Seoul, South Korea, where the Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) had regrouped and begun a large-scale effort to penetrate the valley areas east of Seoul. Just prior to the main CCF offensive, the 5th RCT was executing part of a blocking action known as Operation Dauntless, in which its 1st and 2nd Battalions launched an attack against CCF forces in the Chorwon Valley to the north. They pushed the enemy out of the area and set up defensive positions, but the CCF soon regrouped and returned with a massive counterattack. While this assault was repelled, heavy pressure over the next eight days forced the 24th Infantry Division, along with the 5th RCT, to gradually fall back to stronger positions. The U.S. units suffered heavy casualties over the course of the fighting and withdrawal. Corporal Eldon Eugene Fox, who joined the U.S. Army from Illinois, served with C Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces on April 23 when his unit was overrun by the enemy near Udam-Jang. He was forced to march north to the Suan Mining Camp, where he died of dysentery on July 26. Although he was buried near the camp, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Corporal Fox 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 George Nykvist, age 18, from Illinois, Cook 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 Robert George Nykvist, who joined the U.S. Army from Illinois, served with I Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He went missing in action during the CCF attacks on December 3, 1950, though specific details regarding his loss are unknown. No one saw him fall in battle, and he was never reported to be a prisoner of war. After the war, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody. Today, Corporal Nykvist is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
William M. Zoellick from Illinois, Cook county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 30, 1950
Death details: On February 22, 2022, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Corporal William Martin Zoellick, missing from the Korean War. Corporal Zoellick entered the U.S. Army from Illinois and was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. CPL Zoellick was captured by Chinese People’s Volunteer Force (CPVF) on November 30, 1950, after his unit encountered a CPVF roadblock near Kunu-ri, North Korea. A report provided to the United Nations by the CPVF stated that CPL Zoellick died at POW Camp 1 at Ch’angsong, North Korea, on February 27, 1951. CPL Zoellick was not identified from among remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. In 2018, the DPAA began its phased disinterment and reexamination of 652 Korean War unknown remains that were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery in Honolulu, Hawaii. One set of these unknown remains that had been recovered from the POW Camp 5 in Pyoktong, North Korea, were tentatively associated with ZPL Zoellick. While this location was inconsistent with CPL Zoellick’s reported place of death, DPAA historians surmised that the reported location may have been made in error, as Camp 1 was not yet operational until after CPL Zoellick’s date of death, February 27, 1951. Laboratory analysis and circumstantial evidence allowed DPAA scientists to identify the remains as those of CPL Zoellick.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Glenn Maynard Clark from Illinois, Montgomery county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 30, 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. Private First Class Glenn Maynard Clark, who joined the U.S. Army from Illinois, served with Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces on July 12, near Chochiwon and was forced to march north to the Apex Camps near the Yalu River in North Korea. He died of exhaustion and pneumonia in late November at the prison camp near Chunggang-jin and was buried near the edge of the village. His remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war and he is still unaccounted for. Today, Private First Class Clark is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency