Leonard Michael Ackerman, age 21, from Fraser, Michigan, Macomb county.
Spouse: Sally A. Ackerman
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, March 20, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, UPI (1970)
Patrick Tracy, age 22, from East Detroit, Michigan, Macomb county.
Parents: Arthur Tracy
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, March 8, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, UPI (1970)
Howard Blandino, age 21, from Warren, Michigan, Macomb county.
Parents: Robert J. Blandino
Spouse: None
Children: None
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Lincoln High (1966)
Date of death: Thursday, January 29, 1970
Death details: Hostile, died of wounds, South Vietnam
Cemetery: White Chapel, Troy
Source: National Archives, Macomb Daily, South Bend Tribune (1970)
Nicholas A. Petluk from Michigan, Macomb county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Saturday, December 2, 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 troops stationed in the Chosin Reservoir area in northeast North Korea, resulting in a seventeen-day conflict that became known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. At the time of the initial CCF attack, members 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. Chinese roadblocks from Sinhung-ni to Hagaru-ri along with the constant enemy fire from the surrounding high ground, made the withdrawal route extremely dangerous. Eventually, the column was broken into separate segments, which the CCF attacked individually. Many men were lost or captured during the moving battle, with survivors reaching friendly lines in Hagaru-ri on December 2 and 3.
Corporal Nicholas Anthony Petluk, who entered the U.S. Army from Michigan, was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on December 2, 1950, during the withdrawal to Hagaru-ri, though specific details regarding his loss are unknown. He was never reported as a prisoner of war, and his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. He remains unaccounted-for. Today, Corporal Petluk is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Daniel Palmer Banfill from Mount Clemens, Michigan, Macomb county.
Spouse: Gladys Lucille Banfill
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Monday, December 18, 1944
Death details: He was aboard the destroyer USS Hull as it operated as part of the Fast Carrier Strike Force in the Philippine Sea. On December 17, 1944, the Hull was participating in refueling operations when the ships of its fueling group were engulfed by Typhoon Cobra. The Hull lost its ability to steer amid the enormous waves and began taking on water. The Hull eventually took on too much water to stay afloat and rolled and sank shortly before noon, on December 18. Sixty-two crew members were rescued, but a little more than two-hundred crew members were lost in the sinking.
Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing t Manila American Cemetery
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Kenneth William Likens, age 20, from Mount Clemens, Michigan, Macomb county.
Parents: William Likens
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Monday, November 22, 1943
Death details: On May 31, 2019, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced it has accounted for Private First Class Kenneth William Likens, missing from World War II. Private First Class Likens entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Michigan and served in Company B, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed on November 22, 1943, during the assault on the Japanese-held island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll. His remains were reportedly buried in the East Division Cemetery (renamed Cemetery #33) on Betio, but he was not identified among remains exhumed from the island after the war. In 2019, DPAA in partnership with the non-profit organization History Flight traveled to Betio where they uncovered a previously undiscovered burial trench and recovered human remains. U.S. analysts used modern forensic techniques and identified PFC Likens from these remains.
Cemetery: Great Lakes National, buried 2019
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
John Dorsey Reynolds, age 21, from Van Dyke, Michigan, Macomb county.
Parents: John M. Reynolds
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 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 John Dorsey Reynolds joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Illinois and served with Company M, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Division. PFC Reynolds was killed in action on November 20, 1943, during the Battle of Tarawa. He was buried in Cemetery #11 on the atoll, but his remains were not found in post-war searches of burial sites on Tarawa. Today, Private First Class Reynolds is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency