Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Daniel Allen Leckel, age 19, from Medford, Oregon, Jackson county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company C, 1-28 Infantry, 1 Id (Task Org To 1 Cd)
Date of death: Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, findagrave.com
Daniel Dean Cooper, age 25, from Jackson County Medford, Oregon .
Spouse: Married
Children: Son
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, February 4, 1972
Death details: Lieutenant (LT) Daniel Dean Cooper, who joined the U.S. Navy from Oregon, was a member of Attack Squadron 22, Carrier Air Wing 15, embarked aboard the USS Coral Sea (CVA-43). On February 4, 1972, he was the pilot of a single-seat A-7 Corsair II (bureau number 156870) returning from a strike mission back to the Coral Sea, located in the South China Sea. Lieutenant Cooper made two approaches to the Coral Sea, but was waved off from landing each time due to an obstruction on the flight deck. He then joined a tanked aircraft circling overhead to take on additional fuel. While maneuvering with the tanker aircraft, LT Cooper’s Corsair crashed into the water (vicinity of 49Q BU 750 430). He did not eject from the aircraft before it went down, and search efforts could not locate him following the crash. He remains unaccounted for. Today, LT Cooper is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1972), Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Barry Alan Bowman, age 22, from Jackson County Medford, Oregon .
Parents: Harold E. Bowman
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Gunn High (1966)
Date of death: Sunday, October 17, 1971
Death details: Killed by a booby trap in Vietnam.
Source: National Archives, Pennisula Times Tribune (1971)
Richard Schwab, age 21, from Medford, Oregon, Jackson county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, September 6, 1970
Death details: Body recovered
Source: National Archives
Johnny Lee Fulton, age 19, from Medford, Oregon, Jackson county.
Parents: Theordore Fulton
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, May 9, 1970
Death details: Died in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
David Lloyd Dixon from Medford, Oregon, Jackson county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, September 28, 1968
Death details: On September 28, 1968, LCM 6 landing craft No. 28 with two crew members aboard was docked at the harbor near the mouth of the Cua Viet River in the vicinity of (GC) YD 320 690. A nearby barge pumping fuel suddenly caught fire and the conflagration spread rapidly, engulfing a number of boats in the harbor in flames. The entire waterfront was soon ablaze, and the two crew members on the LCM jumped into the water. Rescuers were later unable to locate them or their remains.
Machinist’s Mate Third Class David Lloyd Dixon, who joined the U.S. Navy from Oregon, served with Naval Support Activity Da Nang, Naval Support Activity Detachment Cua Viet. He was a crew member aboard LCM (6) No. 28, and his remains were not recovered. Today, Machinist’s Mate Third Class Dixon is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Lyle E. Charpilloz, age 17, from Medford., Oregon, Jackson county.
Parents: Alice E. Taylor
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: On September 26, 2017, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private First Class Lyle E. Charpilloz, missing from World War II. Private First Class (PFC) Charpilloz joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Oregon and was eventually assigned to Company F, Second Battalion, Eighth Marine Regiment, Second Marine Division. He was killed in action on November 20, 1943, during the amphibious assault on Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, known as the Battle of Tarawa. His remains were recovered and buried in an unspecified Division Cemetery on Betio, but they were not identified during disinterment efforts following the war. During these recovery efforts, the American Graves Registration Service uncovered more than ninety sets of unidentifiable remains. They were eventually interred in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP) in Hawaii as “unknowns.” In 2014, History Flight, a private non-profit organization, uncovered remains at a site on Betio Island identified as Cemetery 26. These remains were turned over to the DPAA. Then, in 2016, the DPAA received permission to disinter the Tarawa unknowns from the NMCP. DPAA analysts determined that one of the Tarawa unknowns was associated with remains recovered from Cemetery 26 by History Flight and consolidated the remains into a single accession. These remains were subsequently identified as PFC Charpilloz.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency