Jake Robert Velloza, age 22, from Inverness, California
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Hhc, 1St Battalion, 12Th Cavalry, 3 Bct, Fort Hood, Texas
Date of death: Saturday, May 2, 2009
Death details: Hostile; Mosul, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Ray Michael Fuhrmann II, age 28, from Novato, California, Marin county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Hhc, 3D Battalion, 69Th Armor, 3D Id, (Tf Liberty), Fort Stewart, Ga
Date of death: Thursday, August 18, 2005
Death details: Hostile; Balad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense
John S. Bacheller, age 36, from Tiburon, California, Marin county.
Service era: Post cold war
Date of death: Friday, August 23, 1996
Death details: EA-6B “Prowler” of Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 1, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, crashed during a training mission at Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Arizona.
Source: U.S. Navy, Associated Press
William Bradley Doucet, age 22, from San Anselmo, California, Marin county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, May 16, 1970
Death details: Body recovered
Cemetery: Holy Cross
Source: National Archives, Escanaba Daily Press (1970)
James Michael Gribbin, age 21, from Novato, California, Marin county.
Parents: Mrs. Milly Ondrasek
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, March 17, 1970
Death details: Body recovered
Source: National Archives, San Francisco Examiner (1970)
Wim Goeree, age 21, from Woodacre, California, Marin county.
Parents: Cornelius P. Goeree
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, March 8, 1970
Death details: Died of natural casues in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Frank Kornovich, age 23, from Marin County San Rafael, California .
Parents: Ouida J. Kornovich
Spouse: Karen (Francisco)
Children: thoms Allen Kornovich
Service era: Vietnam
Military history: Company K, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines
Date of death: Wednesday, April 27, 1966
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, San Francisco Examiner (1966)
Robert Allen Johnson, age 18, from Marin County Novato, California .
Parents: Eleanor Kegg
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, April 11, 1966
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Novato Advance (1966), San Francisco Chronicle (1966)
Charles F Whitehead, age 38, from Marin County Mill Valley, California .
Parents: Frank Whitehead
Spouse: Dorothy
Children: Sandra and Barbara, 12; Joan, 9; Charles F. Whitehead III, 7
Service era: Vietnam
Military history: Korea War veteran
Date of death: Tuesday, October 8, 1963
Death details: Killed in the crash of two Marine helicopters in South Vietnam.
Source: National Archives, Press Democrat (1963)
Albert J. Kircher from Marin County California.
Parents: A. J. Kircher
Service era: World War II
Schools: Washington High, Oregon State College graduate
Date of death: Friday, December 15, 1944
Death details: On December 13, 1944, Japanese forces in the Philippines began the transfer of 1,621 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) to Japan. The POWs were to make the journey aboard transport ships whose harsh conditions and extreme overcrowding led survivors to refer to them as “Hell Ships.” The ships also lacked markings that would distinguish them from any other military target, causing some of them to be attacked by Allied forces who could not identify them as POW transports. On December 14, 1944, Allied aircraft attacked the first ship, the Oryoku Maru, in Subic Bay in the Philippines, killing many Allied POWs who became lost in the water, sank with the ship, or were washed ashore. Survivors of the bombing were put aboard two other ships, the Enoura Maru and the Brazil Maru, to continue on to Japan. During the journey, while anchored in Takao Harbor, Formosa (present-day Taiwan), the Enoura Maru was attacked by Allied aircraft from the USS Hornet (CV-8), killing Allied POWs who were lost in the water, on board the ship, or on the nearby shore. Survivors of the Enoura Maru bombing were loaded onto the Brazil Maru, and reached Japan on January 30, 1945. As a result of these incidents, Allied POWs were lost in the Philippines, at sea between the Philippines and Taiwan, while anchored in Taiwan, at sea between Taiwan and Japan, and in Japan. The attacks on these POW transports ultimately resulted in a series of death notifications from the Japanese government through the International Red Cross (IRC), and some casualties were given up to five different dates of death at various locations during the transfer. Witness accounts from surviving POWs offer detailed information for a handful of casualties, but the specific dates of loss and/or last-known locations for many of these POWs are based on the most recent reported date of death. Major Albert J. Kircher, who joined the U.S. Army in California, served in Headquarters, Luzon Force in the Philippines during World War II. He was taken as a POW following the Japanese invasion and was interned in the islands until December 1944, when he was put aboard the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate MAJ Kircher was killed several weeks later in the attack on the Enoura Maru; however, these reports often involve information solely furnished by enemy governments, with some casualties given multiple dates of death. Future research may determine that these reports were inaccurate. Attempts to locate and identify MAJ Kircher’s remains following the end of hostilities were unsuccessful. Today, Major Kircher is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Oregon Daily Journal (1945)