Tag: Leominster Massachusetts

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Reynolds, Ross A.
Marines Captain

Ross A. Reynolds, age 27, from Leominster, Massachusetts, Worcester county.

Spouse: Lana

Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: “Raging Bulls” of Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 261 based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina

Date of death: Friday, March 18, 2022
Death details: Among four Marines who died when their MV-22B Osprey crashed near the town of Bodo, Norway.

Source: Jacksonville Daily News, Assosiated Press, Greenwich Time

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Roberge, Jonathan Richard
Army Private 1st class

Jonathan Richard Roberge, age 22, from Leominister, Massachusetts.

Service era: Iraq
Military history: Hht, 3D Battalion, 8Th Cavalry, 3 Bct, Fort Hood, Tx

Date of death: Monday, February 9, 2009
Death details: Hostile; Mosul, Iraq

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

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Yelle, Leo Bernard
Army Sergeant

Leo Bernard Yelle, age 20, from Leominster, Massachusetts, Worcester 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. Sergeant First Class Leo Bernard Yelle, who joined the U.S. Army from Massachusetts, was a member of Company B, 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion. Three companies of the 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion had been positioned near Unsan to provide support to the ROK infantry regiments in the area. After midnight on November 1, 1950, U.S. forces near the town were ordered to withdraw to avoid encirclement by the enemy. CCF roadblocks and constant small arms fire led to heavy casualties among the withdrawing men. A firing platoon of Company B was caught behind enemy lines and overrun during the withdrawal. Sergeant First Class Yelle went missing in action during this battle. He was never reported as a prisoner of war, and he remains unaccounted for. Today, Sergeant First Class Yelle is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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Dufresne, Norman Phillip
Army Private 1st class

Norman Phillip Dufresne, age 20, from Leominster, Massachusetts, Worcester county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Sunday, July 30, 1950
Death details: On September 19, 2013, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Private First Class Norman Phillip Dufresne, missing from the Korean War. Private First Class Dufresne, who entered the U.S. Army from Massachusetts, served with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. On July 30, 1950, he was killed in action while his unit was engaged in combat with North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) forces near the town of Chinju, South Korea. PFC Dufresne’s remains were recovered in August 1951 and buried at the United Nations Military Cemetery (UNMC) in Tanggok, South Korea. They were later sent to an identification unit in Kokura, Japan, for analysis; however, they could not be identified at the time and were buried as unknown remains at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. In 2012, advances in forensic technology prompted the disinterment and eventual identification PFC Dufresne’s remains.

Source: Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Boston Globe (2013)