MIA

Rao, Elijah J.
Army Sergeant

Elijah J. Rao, age 26, from Lake Oswego, Oregon, Clackamas county.

Parents: Franklin Rao, Sharon Hauerhen and stepfather Don Hauerhen
Spouse: Leah Rao
Children: Eliana Rao, 1

Service era: Afghanistan
Schools: West Linn High (2001)
Military history: 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado. Purple Heart.

Date of death: Saturday, December 5, 2009
Death details: Died in Nuristan, Afghanistan of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.
Cemetery: Willanette National

Source: Department of Defense, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Military Times

Speicher, Michael Scott
Navy Captain

Michael Scott Speicher, age 33, from Kansas City, Missouri. Their last known residence was in Jacksonville, Florida.

Spouse: Joanne Speicher
Children: Two children

Service era: Operation Desert Storm
Schools: Florida State University (1980)

Date of death: Thursday, January 17, 1991
Death details: Shot down flying a combat mission in an F/A-18 Hornet over west-central Iraq. Acting on information from an Iraqi citizen in July 2009, Marines went to the crash site and were led to a burial site. He was the only American missing in action from that war. Reports over years led some to believe he was alive.
Cemetery: Jacsonville Memory Gardens

Source: Department of Defense, New York Times, Fox News, Associated Press

Rumbaugh, Elwood Eugene
Air Force Staff Sergeant

Elwood Eugene Rumbaugh, age 31, from Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, Cambria county.

Spouse: Married

Service era: Vietnam
Military history: Staff sergeant.

Date of death: Saturday, May 15, 1975
Death details:  On May 15, 1975, a CH-53A Super Stallion (tail number 926) with a crew of four took part in a rescue of the U.S. merchant ship SS Mayaguez, located off the coast of Koh Tang Island, Cambodia. The Super Stallion was damaged by hostile ground fire during the mission, causing it to crash into the water off the island’s coast, in the vicinity of (GC) TS 940 400. A rescue team was able to locate and recover three members of the Super Stallion’s crew immediately after the crash; however, the flight engineer could not be found. Further searches of the crash site could not be conducted due to heavy enemy presence in the area. The remains of the Super Stallion’s flight engineer are still unaccounted for.

Staff Sergeant Elwood Eugene Rumbaugh, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Pennsylvania, was a member of the 21st Special Operations Squadron. He was the flight engineer aboard the Super Stallion when it went down, and was the crew member who was not located following the crash. His remains were not recovered, and he is still unaccounted for. Today, Staff Sergeant Rumbaugh is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Department of Defense.

Marshall, Danny Glen Marines

Danny Glen Marshall from Waverly, West Virginia, Wood county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, May 15, 1975
Death details:  Shortly after midnight on May 15, 1975, three Marines made up an M-60 machine gun team that was part of a Marine force making a helicopter-borne assault on enemy holdings on Koh Tang Island, Cambodia. They participated in combat operations throughout the day and were not known to be injured or wounded at any point. On the evening of May 15 orders were given to pull back to the beach of the island for extraction and to set up a new defensive position. The three Marines left their initial defensive position and started back to the beach; however, only one was sighted on the beach, and when the extraction was finished that night, all three Marines were missing. Enemy activity in the area prevented a return to the beach in order to search for them, and they remain unaccounted-for.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Hargrove, Joseph N.
Marines Lance corporal

Joseph N. Hargrove from Mt. Olive, North Carolina

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, May 15, 1975.

Shortly after midnight on May 15, 1975, three Marines made up an M-60 machine gun team that was part of a Marine force making a helicopter-borne assault on enemy holdings on Koh Tang Island, Cambodia. They participated in combat operations throughout the day and were not known to be injured or wounded at any point. On the evening of May 15 orders were given to pull back to the beach of the island for extraction and to set up a new defensive position. The three Marines left their initial defensive position and started back to the beach; however, only one was sighted on the beach, and when the extraction was finished that night, all three Marines were missing. Enemy activity in the area prevented a return to the beach in order to search for them, and they remain unaccounted-for.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Manning, Ronald James
Navy Hospital man

Ronald James Manning from Toronto, Ohio, Jefferson county. Their last known residence was in Toronto.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, May 15, 1975
Death details: Hostile, body not recovered, Cambodia; Marine Corps Pfc. Daniel A. Benedett of Seattle, Wash., was buried May 15, 2013 at Arlington National Cemetery, along with Air Force 2nd Lt. Richard Vandegeer of Cleveland, Ohio; Navy Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Bernard Gause Jr., of Birmingham, Ala.; Hospitalman Ronald J. Manning of Steubenville, Ohio; Marine Corps servicemen Lance Cpl. Gregory S. Copenhaver of Lewistown, Pa.; Lance Cpl. Andres Garcia of Carlsbad, N.M.; Pfc. Lynn Blessing of Lancaster, Pa.; Pfc. Walter Boyd of Portsmouth, Va.; Pfc. James J. Jacques of La Junta, Colo.; Pfc. James R. Maxwell of Memphis, Tenn.; Pfc. Richard W. Rivernburgh of Schenectady, N.Y.; Pfc. Antonio R. Sandoval of San Antonio, Texas; and Pfc. Kelton R. Turner of St. Louis, Mo. On May 12, 1975, Khmer Rouge gunboats captured the S.S. Mayaguez in the Gulf of Thailand, approximately 60 nautical miles off the coast of Cambodia. After the vessel was taken to Koh Tang Island, U.S. aircraft began surveillance flights around the island. When efforts to secure the release of the ship and its crew failed, U.S. military forces began a rescue mission. Three days after the Mayaguez seizure, the Air Force dispatched six helicopters to the island. One of the helicopters came under heavy enemy fire and crashed into the surf with 26 men on board. Thirteen of the men were rescued at sea, leaving Benedett and 12 other service members unaccounted-for from the crash. Between 1991 and 2008, investigators conducted more than 10 investigations and excavations, led by Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC). On three occasions, Cambodian authorities turned over remains believed to be those of American servicemen. In 1995, U.S. and Cambodian specialists conducted an underwater recovery of the helicopter crash site where they located remains, personal effects and aircraft debris associated with the loss. Between 2000 and 2004, all of the missing service members from this helicopter, except Benedett, were accounted-for. On January 30, 2013, Benedett was accounted-for. Scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) used circumstantial evidence and DNA process of elimination to account for his remains.
Cemetery: Arlington National

Source: National Archives, Department of Defense

Nystul, William Craig
Marines Captain

William Craig Nystul from Coronado, California, San Diego county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, April 29, 1975
Death details:  On April 29, 1975, a CH-46D Sea Knight with a crew of four took off from the aircraft carrier USS Hancock (CVA-19) in the South China Sea. After returning from its mission, while attempting to land on the Hancock, the Sea Knight crashed into the sea. The pilot and copilot could not be recovered; the two other crew members, both seriously injured, were rescued.

Captain William Craig Nystul entered the U.S. Marine Corps from California and was a member of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 164, Marine Air Group 36, 1st Marine Air Wing. He was the pilot of this Sea Knight when it crashed, and he was lost with the aircraft. His remains were not recovered. Today, Captain Nystul 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

Smallwood, John Jackie
Air Force Captain

John Jackie Smallwood, age 25, from Marietta, Georgia, Cobb county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Saturday, June 16, 1973.

On June 16, 1973, an F-4E Phantom II (tail number: 67-00374; call sign “Wolf 07”) conducted a forward air controller (FAC) mission over Cambodia. It was the lead aircraft in a flight of two on the mission, and was responsible for marking targets for the other aircraft. This Phantom’s pilot spotted an enemy-controlled bridge and maneuvered to mark it for the other aircraft, but while attempting this, crashed for unknown reasons. The wingman’s crew observed the crash and reported seeing no ejections and receiving no rescue beeper signals. Immediate search and rescue forces failed to locate the downed Phantom or either crew member. Due to enemy forces in the area, no ground search was conducted, and the two crew members remain unaccounted-for.

Captain John Jackie Smallwood, who entered the U.S. Air Force from Georgia, served with the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing. He was the radar intercept officer aboard this Phantom when it crashed on June 16, 1973. He was not recovered following the incident. Today, Captain Smallwood is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Cornelius, Samuel Blackmar
Air Force Major

Samuel Blackmar Cornelius, age 20, from Lubbock, Texas, Lubbock county.

Service era: Vietnam

Spouse: Married

Children: Sammye Cornelia

Date of death: Saturday, June 16, 1973

Death details:  On June 16, 1973, an F-4E Phantom II (tail number: 67-00374; call sign “Wolf 07”) conducted a forward air controller (FAC) mission over Cambodia. It was the lead aircraft in a flight of two on the mission, and was responsible for marking targets for the other aircraft. This Phantom’s pilot spotted an enemy-controlled bridge and maneuvered to mark it for the other aircraft, but while attempting this, crashed for unknown reasons. The wingman’s crew observed the crash and reported seeing no ejections and receiving no rescue beeper signals. Immediate search and rescue forces failed to locate the downed Phantom or either crew member. Due to enemy forces in the area, no ground search was conducted, and the two crew members remain unaccounted-for.

Captain Samuel Blackmar Cornelius, who entered the U.S. Air Force from Texas, served with the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing. He was the pilot of this Phantom when it crashed on June 16, 1973, and he was lost following the incident and remains unaccounted-for. While carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the U.S. Air Force promoted Capt Cornelius to the rank of Major (Maj). Today, Major Cornelius is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Selma Times Journal (1976)

Stringham, William Sterlin
Navy Petty officer 3rd class

William Sterlin Stringham, age 22, from Garden, California, Orange county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Saturday, February 3, 1973
Death details: Aviation Machinists Mate Third Class William Sterling Stringham, who joined the U.S. Navy from California, was a member of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 115, embarked aboard the USS Midway (CVA 41). On February 3, 1973, he failed to report for duty at his assigned work center. A search of his sleeping quarters and a questioning of his acquaintances revealed that he had not been seen since that morning. The entire Midway was searched, but ADR3 Sterling was not seen or heard from following his disappearance, and his remains have not been recovered. Today, Aviation Machinists Mate Third Class Stringham 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

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