Richard Ross Lange, age 19, from Mason County Ludington, Michigan .
Parents: Arthur P. Lange Jr.
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Ludington High (1970)
Date of death: Friday, November 19, 1971
Death details: Killed by friendly fire in South Vietnam
Cemetery: Lakeview
Source: National Archives, Ludington Daily News (1971)
Andrew Carl Grant, age 39, from Carr Settlement, Michigan, Mason county.
Parents: Carl Grant
Children: Michael, David, Debra
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, August 6, 1970
Death details: Killed in action
Source: National Archives, Ludington Daily News (1970)
Roger Allan Dains, age 19, from Ludington, Michigan, Mason county.
Service era: Vietnam
Parents: Gilbert Dains
Date of death: Monday, April 22, 1968
Death details: Hostile, killed, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, UPI (1968)
Lamont J. Durfee, age 30, from Michigan, Mason county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Sunday, December 3, 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 (UN) troops stationed in the Chosin Reservoir area in north-east North Korea. The resulting seventeen-day conflict became known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. At the time of the initial CCF attack, members of 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. Many men were lost or captured during the withdraw, with survivors reaching friendly lines in Hagaru-ri on December 2 and 3. Once at Hagaru-ri, the survivors of the withdrawal manned a section of the perimeter near East Hill, a strong defensive position overlooking the town. On the night of December 3, the Chinese attacked the Hagaru-ri perimeter and overwhelmed the defenders there. Many Americans were killed or went missing during these actions. Master Sergeant Lamont J. Durfee, who joined the U.S. Army from Arizona, served with I Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He went missing in action on December 3, 1950, during the CCF attack, though specific details regarding his loss are unknown. No one saw him fall, and he was never reported to be a prisoner of war. After the war, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody. Today, Master Sergeant Durfee is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Frank V. Benak, age 24, from Mason County Michigan.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Thursday, December 13, 1945
Death details: On February 2, 2024, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Corporal Frank Vincent Benak, missing from World War II. Corporal Benak entered the U.S. Army in Michigan and served in Cannon Company, 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division. In late 1942, the division was engaged with Japanese forces around Buna, Papua New Guinea. American and Australian troops encountered harsh terrain and well concealed and entrenched defenders in their struggle to liberate this area from enemy control. On December 5, Cpl Benak and another soldier were on a combat patrol near Buna Creek when they encountered enemy forces and came under fire. The other soldier was wounded and managed to return to friendly lines, but Cpl Benak was never seen again. On December 14, 1942, unidentified remains of an American soldier were buried at the Buna Village Cemetery. These remains were eventually transferred to the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines. In May 2012, Australian Defense Force personnel looking for unresolved casualties near Buna observed an identification tag that belonged to Cpl Benak in the possession of a village leader. This discovery led to the disinterment of the unidentified remains from the Manila American Cemetery for further study. Laboratory analysis and the totality of the circumstantial evidence available established that the remains were those of Cpl Benak.
Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing at Manila American
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW MIA Accounting Agency, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Appleton Post Crescent
Joseph H. Jones, age 22, from Michigan, Mason county.
Service era: World War II
Military history: 457th Bomber Group; Purple Heart
Date of death: Saturday, January 13, 1945
Death details: Finding of death
Cemetery: Zachary Taylor National
Source: National Archives, grave marker
John E. McKenzie from Michigan, Mason county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Friday, July 21, 1944
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: Zachary Taylor National
Source: National Archives, grave marker