Brian Robert St Germain, age 22, from Warwick, Rhode Island, Kent county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: 7Th Esb, Clb-5, Clr-1, (Clb-7, I Mef Fwd), 1St Mlg, Camp Pendleton, California
Date of death: Sunday, April 2, 2006
Death details: Died when the seven-ton truck his was in rolled over in a flash flood near Asad, Iraq.
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Matthew Joseph August, age 28, from Warwick, Rhode Island, Kent county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company B 1St Engineer Battalion, Fort Riley, Ks 66442
Date of death: Tuesday, January 27, 2004
Death details: Hostile; Khalidiyah, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Tommie Bates, age 27, from Coventry, Rhode Island, Kent county.
Service era: Gulf War
Schools: West Point (1986)
Date of death: Friday, September 14, 1990
Death details: Killed when his vehicle left the road and crashed in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, The Gulf War Chronicles, Orlando Sentinel, Associated Press (1990)
Rick R. Crudale, age 21, from Kent County Warwick, Rhode Island .
Spouse: Heidi Crudale (Petrozzi (April 1983)
Service era: Beirut bombings
Schools: Coventry High graduate, West Bay Vocational Technical School
Date of death: Sunday, October 23, 1983
Death details: Among more than 200 military personnel killed in the terroist bombing of Marine headquarters in Beirut.
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Providence Journal
Edward F. Jr. Iacovino, age 20, from Kent County Warwick, Rhode Island .
Service era: Beirut bombings
Date of death: Sunday, October 23, 1983
Death details: Among more than 200 military personnel killed in the terroist bombing of Marine headquarters in Beirut.
Cemetery: Rhode Island Veterans Memorial
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, findagrave.com
Robert William III MacNaught, age 26, from Warwick, Rhode Island, Kent county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, August 7, 1970
Death details: Hostile, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives
Kenneth B. Jr. Goff from Warwick, Rhode Island.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: August 24, 1967
Death details: Non-hostile, South Vietnam; On August 24, 1967, a UH-1C Iroquois (tail number 66-12526) with four crew members and carrying five passengers took off from Polei Kleng, in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, on a combat support liaison mission to Plei Krong, South Vietnam. The pilot elected to fly at low level along the Krong Bo Lah River. While conducting a 180-degree turn, the aircraft failed to recover and crashed into approximately 10 feet of water in the river. The rainy season caused the river to swell to 100 to 200 meters wide with an approximate current of 20 knots. The river was muddy and debris-filled. Search and rescue helicopters arrived on the scene soon afterward and were able to rescue two of the crew members and two passengers. The other five people aboard the helicopter could not be found by rescuers at the time, although a follow-on search the next month recovered the remains of another passenger. Survivors stated that at least four of the men were swept away by the swift moving current. The remaining two crew members and two passengers were never recovered.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Archie James Closson from Rhode Island, Kent county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Wednesday, March 21, 1951
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 Archie James Closson, who joined the U.S. Army from Rhode Island, served with M Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces on July 12, near Chochiwon, and forced to march north to the Apex prison camps in North Korea. He died of exhaustion and pneumonia on March 21, 1951, at the camp near An-dong and was buried a short distance from the camp. His remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the cease fire. Today, Private First Class Closson is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Vittorio Michele Antonio, age 22, from Kent County Rhode Island.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 30, 1950
Death details: By mid-November 1950, U.S. and Allied forces had advanced to within approximately sixty miles of the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China. On November 25, approximately 300,000 Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) “volunteers” suddenly and fiercely counterattacked after crossing the Yalu. The 2nd Infantry Division, located the farthest north of units at the Chongchon River, could not halt the CCF advance and was ordered to withdraw to defensive positions at Sunchon in the South Pyongan province of North Korea. As the division pulled back from Kunu-ri toward Sunchon, it conducted an intense rearguard action while fighting to break through well-defended roadblocks set up by CCF infiltrators. The withdrawal was not complete until December 1, and the 2nd Infantry Division suffered extremely heavy casualties in the process. Corporal Vittorio Michele Antonio entered the U.S. Army from Rhode Island and served in F Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was wounded by shell fragments during the action on November 30, 1950. He was not seen again after departing his post to get treatment at an aid station and his name did not appear on hospital records. There was also no evidence suggesting he was taken as a prisoner of war. His remains were not recovered and he was not identified among the remains returned to the U.S. following the armistice. Today, Corporal Antonio is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Associated Press (1954)
Alfred Jr. Beauchesne, age 18, from Rhode Island, Kent county.
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. Master Sergeant Alfred Beauchesne Jr., who joined the U.S. Army from Rhode Island, was a member of Company C of the 99th Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, Company C, located near Unsan, joined with elements of the 3rd Battalion at its command post at Ipsok when the command post was surrounded by the enemy and cut off from other units. Master Sergeant Beauchesne was captured at some point during this time and eventually marched northward toward Pyoktong POW camp. He died of dysentery while at a temporary holding point enroute and was buried there by his companions. His remains have not been identified among the remains that North Korean officials returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Master Sergeant Beauchesne is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency