Shannon M. Smith, age 31, from Marion, Ohio, Marion county. Their last known residence was in Marion.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: 545th Miltary Police Company, Arctic Miltary Police Battalion, Fort Richardson, Alaska.
Date of death: Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Death details: Died of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an explosive device in Baji, Iraq.
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
David Austin Butcher, age 19, from Marion, Ohio, Marion county.
Service era: Vietnam
Military history: Company B, 9th Infantry Division
Date of death: Friday, May 8, 1970
Death details: Hostile, Cambodia
Cemetery: Marion
Source: National Archives, Marion Star (1970)
Rick Alan Wilcox, age 20, from Marion, Ohio, Marion county.
Parents: Robert Wilcox
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, April 15, 1970
Death details: Hostile, South Vietnam
Cemetery: Marion
Source: National Archives, Marion Star (1970)
Robert Eugene Neal, age 19, from Marion, Ohio, Marion county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, February 16, 1970
Death details: Died from wounds
Source: National Archives, Akron Beacon Journal (1970)
Bruce August Nystrom from Marion, Ohio, Marion county. Their last known residence was in Marion.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: December 2, 1966
Death details: Commander Bruce August Nystrom entered the U.S. Navy from Ohio and served in Fighter Squadron 172. On December 2, 1966, he took off in a single-seat A-4C Skyhawk (bureau number 145143) as the second of two aircraft on a night armed reconnaissance mission against enemy targets in Nam Ha Province, North Vietnam. During the mission, another flight of aircraft on a separate mission received radio transmissions between CDR Nystrom and his wingman that surface-to-air missiles had been fired at their aircraft. Soon after, the second flight of aircraft witnessed a ground flash followed by a mid-air explosion, then heard CDR Nystrom on the radio attempting to contact his wingman to no avail. Another ground flash was then observed, after which CDR Nystrom went radio silent. Commander Nystrom was not heard from again, and his remains were not recovered. Following the incident, the Navy promoted CDR Nystrom to the rank of Captain (CAPT). Today, Captain Nystrom is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Donald F. Buckley, age 26, from Ohio, Marion county.
Service era: World War II
Military history: 48th Engineers
Date of death: Friday, February 18, 1944
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: New Albany National
Source: National Archives, grave marker
Gerald Romain Plotner from Ohio, Marion county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Unknown
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 Gerald Romain Plotner, who joined the U.S. Army from Ohio, served with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces on July 11 as his unit fought a series of delaying actions between Pyongtaek and Chochiwon. He was forced to march north to the Apex prison camps in North Korea. He died of malnutrition, dysentery and exposure at one of the Apex camps on an unspecified date in February 1951. He was buried near the camp where he died; however, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Private First Class Plotner is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency