Atchison, Jacob
Army Private
Jacob Atchison, age 19, from Marion County Pella, Iowa .
Service era: Post Afghanistan
Military history: 197th Infantry Brigade
Date of death: Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Source: Millitary.com
Atchison, Jacob
Sams, John Wilbur Jr.
Army Private 1st class
John Wilbur Jr. Sams, age 21, from Knoxville, Iowa, Marion county.
Parents: John W. Sams Sr.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, March 22, 1970
Death details: Hostile in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Des Moines Register (1970)
Nichols, James Lorence
Air Force Sergeant
James Lorence Nichols from Knoxville, Iowa, Marion county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Friday, November 20, 1953
Death details:
On November 18, 1952, a B-29 Superfortress (tail number 44-86392) with fourteen crew members departed Yokota Air Base, Japan, in a group of six medium bombers accompanied by fighter support aircraft. The briefed mission was a night bombing operation targeting the Sonchon supply depot in North Korea. After dropping its payload, the B-29 was illuminated by flares, cueing ground searchlights. The Superfortress was then lit up by multiple enemy searchlights, which highlighted it for nearby enemy MiG-15 fighters and during the ensuing attack that followed, both of the B-29’s inboard engines were disabled and a fire broke out in the right wing. The aircraft commander immediately turned the aircraft south toward the Bay of Korea’s island of Cho (Cho-do), which was under friendly control at the time. As the B-29 approached Cho-do, the flight engineer reported that the fire was quickly approaching the aircraft’s fuel tanks. Fearing an explosion, the aircraft commander ordered the flight crew to exit the aircraft. After the entire crew bailed out, the Superfortress crashed into the water just north of Cho-do. Of the fourteen on board, two survived. Rescue personnel later located the remains of two others, but ten crew members remain unaccounted-for.
Airman First Class James Lorence Nichols, who entered the U.S. Air Force from Iowa, served in the 345th Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bombardment Wing. He was the central fire control gunner aboard this B-29 when it was shot down, and he was lost in the incident. No returning POWs mentioned having contact with A1 Nichols, nor was he seen at any known holding point, interrogation center, hospital, or permanent POW camp. He remains unaccounted-for. Today, Airman First Class Nichols is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency