Jefferson County Illinois

Bastean, Jordan S.
Marines Lance corporal

Jordan S. Bastean, age 19, from Pekin, Illinois, Jefferson county.

Parents: Steven Phillip and Kathy Rae (Leichtenberg) Bastean

Service era: Afghanistan
Schools: Pekin High (2010)
Military history: 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, California.

Date of death: Sunday, October 23, 2011
Death details: Died while conducting combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Cemetery: Prairie Haven Cemetery in Pekin

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times, legacy.com

Price, Jonathan Kyle
Marines Lance corporal

Jonathan Kyle Price, age 19, from Woodlawn, Illinois, Jefferson county.

Service era: Iraq
Military history: L Btry, 3D Bn, 10Th Mar, Sec Det, Hq Bn, 2D Mardiv, Camp Lejeune, Nc

Date of death: Friday, January 13, 2006
Death details: Hostile; Ar Ramadi, Iraq

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

Clinton, Dean Eddie
Army Chief warrant officer

Dean Eddie Clinton from Dix, Illinois, Jefferson county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: 6/11/1967
Death details: 

On June 11, 1967, a UH-1D Iroquois (tail number 63-12958, call sign “Bamboo Viper 47”) carrying three crew members and two passengers departed Landing Zone Uplift for Qui Nhon Air Field on an operational mission over South Vietnam. The helicopter encountered bad weather, and radioed for assistance in determining his position. A search and rescue (SAR) team was dispatched to lead the helicopter to a safe airfield but could not locate it. The pilot of the Iroquois then radioed that he was out of fuel and was going to make a water landing, but the helicopter was not heard from again. SAR efforts continued for two days but found no signs of the helicopter or any of the passengers or crew.

Warrant Officer 1 Dean Eddie Clinton, who joined the U.S. Army from Illinois, served with Company C, 227th Aviation Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. He was the copilot of the Iroquois when it disappeared, and his remains were not recovered. After the incident, the Army promoted WO1 Clinton to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2). Today, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Clinton is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Lloyd, Lowell Ray
Marines Lance corporal

Lowell Ray Lloyd from Woodlawn, Illinois, Jefferson county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Friday, May 26, 1967
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam

Cemetery: Odd Fellows, Woodlawn

Source: National Archives, grave marker

Thomas, Kenneth Deane Jr.
Air Force Captain

Kenneth Deane Jr. Thomas, age 25, from Jefferson County Mount Vernon, Illinois .

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, May 5, 1966
Death details: On October 7, 1985, the Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii (CILHI, now DPAA) identified the remains of Captain Kenneth Deane Thomas Jr., missing from the Vietnam War. Captain Thomas entered the U.S. Air Force from Illinois and was a member of 469th Tactical Fighter Squadron. On May 5, 1966, he piloted an F-105D Thunderchief (tail number unknown) that took off from Korat Air Base, Thailand on a combat mission against enemy targets in North Vietnam. While over Binh Thuan Province, his aircraft was hit by enemy fire and crashed, killing Capt Thomas. His remains were not recovered at the time. However, in 1985, investigators were able to identify Capt Thomas from remains that had been taken into U.S custody.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Settlemire, William David
Army 1st lieutenant

William David Settlemire, age 23, from Jefferson County Mount Vernon, Illinois .

Parents: Walter L. Settlemire

Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Mount Vernon High (1960), Vanderbilt University (1964)
Military history: 101st Airborne Division

Date of death: Wednesday, February 9, 1966
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam

Source: National Archives, Mount Vernon Register News (1966)

Bain, Ronald Eugene
Navy Engineman 2

Ronald Eugene Bain, age 23, from Jefferson County Mount Vernon, Illinois .

Parents: Fred A Bain

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, April 10, 1963
Death details: Killed aboard the atomic submarine Thresher when the ship went missing 220 miles East of Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Source: ussthresher.com, Associated Press (1963), oneternalpatrol.com, Mount Vernon Register News (1963)

Grant, Charles Ray
Marine Reserves Private

Charles Ray Grant, age 18, from Mount Vernon, Illinois, Jefferson county.

Parents: Charles V. Grant

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, November 21, 1943
Death details: From November 20 through 23, 1943, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy conducted a large-scale amphibious assault on the Japanese-held atoll of Tarawa as part of Operation Galvanic, the Allied capture of the Gilbert Islands. Located 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, Tarawa was a crucial stepping stone in the planned U.S. offensive across the central Pacific toward Japan. The Japanese garrison on Tarawa’s main island of Betio was well-entrenched with hundreds of bunkers and gun positions behind formidable beach obstacles. The first wave of Marines approaching the shore encountered lower-than-expected tides, forcing them to leave their landing craft on the reef and wade the hundreds of yards to the beach under intense enemy fire. The heaviest number of U.S. casualties were suffered during this phase of the landing. Eventually, rising tides allowed U.S. warships to maneuver closer to shore and support the troops with effective naval gunfire. More Marines landed on the second day, launching attacks inland from the beaches and seizing the Japanese airfield on the island. However, the enemy launched vicious counterattacks and two more days of intense fighting were needed to secure Betio. The last enemy strongpoints were taken on the morning of November 23. The fighting on Betio cost the Marines nearly 3,000 casualties but enabled U.S. forces to press further across the Pacific and yielded valuable tactical lessons that reduced U.S. losses in future amphibious landings. Private First Class Charles Ray Grant entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Illinois and served in Company A, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action on November 21, 1943, during the Battle of Tarawa. PFC Grant was buried on Betio but after the war his remains could not be identified among those disinterred from the island. Private First Class Grant is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Morgan, Robert R.
Army Private 1st class

Robert R. Morgan from Illinois, Jefferson county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Friday, January 1, 1943
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor, with food and water extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves, often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Private Robert R. Morgan joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Texas and served with the 7th Material Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of beriberi on January 1, 1943, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Private Morgan is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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