Michigan

Standfest, Jeffrey R.
Marines Corporal

Jeffrey R. Standfest, age 23, from St. Clair, Michigan, St. Clair county.

Parents: Timothy Standfest and Karen Standfest

Service era: Afghanistan
Schools: St. Clair High (2005), Oakland University
Military history: 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California.

Date of death: Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Death details: Died while supporting combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

Source: Department of Defense, Times-Herald, Military Times

Knoll, Garrett Charles
Army Private 1st class

Garrett Charles Knoll, age 23, from Bad Axe, Michigan, Huron county.

Service era: Iraq
Military history: Hht, 5Th Squadron, 73D Cavalry, 3 Bct, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Date of death: Monday, April 23, 2007
Death details: Hostile; As Sadah Village, Iraq

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

Leonard, Marvin Maurice
Army Chief warrant officer

Marvin Maurice Leonard, age 35, from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Kent county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Monday, February 15, 1971
Death details:  On February 15, 1971, a CH-47C Chinook (tail number 18506, call sign “Regard 25”) carrying five crew members and one passenger, took part in a combat support resupply mission over Laos. During the flight, “Regard 25” caught fire, exploded, and crashed near the Pon River in Savannakhet Province, Laos. Another helicopter that had witnessed the incident performed an aerial search of the crash site, but found no sign of any of the crew. The remains of the crew chief, door gunner, flight engineer, and the passenger were eventually recovered and identified; however, the remains of the aircraft commander and pilot were not recovered.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Marvin Maurice Leonard, who joined the U.S. Army from Michigan, was a member of Company C, 159th Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. He was the pilot of “Regard 25” when it went down on February 15, 1971, and he was lost in the crash. His remains have not been recovered or identified following the incident. Today, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Leonard is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Robertson, Mark John
Army Warrant officer

Mark John Robertson, age 21, from Dearborn, Michigan, Wayne county.

Service era: Vietnam

Parent: John Robertson

Date of death: Wednesday, February 10, 1971
Death details:  On March 16, 2004, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Warrant Officer 1 John Mark Robertson, missing from the Vietnam War.

Warrant Officer 1 Robertson entered the U.S. Army from Michigan and served with the 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment. On February 10, 1971, he was the pilot of an OH-6A Cayuse (tail number 66-17765) on a reconnaissance mission over Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. During the mission, the Cayuse was hit by enemy machine gun fire, caught fire, crashed, and exploded, killing WO1 Robertson. Friendly forces were unable to recover his remains at the time, due to the enemy presence in the area. During the 1990s, a joint investigative team located and excavated the crash site, recovering material evidence and fragmentary human remains. Forensic analysis eventually identified WO1 Robertson from these remains.

Cemetery: Arlington National

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com, Detroit Free Press (1971)

Paul, James Lee
Army Warrant officer

James Lee Paul, age 22, from Riverview, Michigan, Wayne county.

Service era: Vietnam

Parent: Orval L. Paul

Date of death: Friday, February 5, 1971
Death details: On February 5, 1971, an AH-1G Cobra (tail number 66-15340) with two crew members took part in an extraction mission near Khe Sanh, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. Shortly after the start of the mission, the Cobra entered heavy cloud cover. While climbing to escape the cloud, the aircraft impacted a mountainside. Aircraft accompanying the Cobra immediately began a visual search of the area and located the crash site at the base of Hill 1015. Investigation of the crash site recovered the remains of the Cobra’s pilot; however, the copilot’s remains could not be located or identified.

Warrant Officer 1 James Lee Paul, who joined the U.S. Army from Michigan, was a member of Troop D, 3rd Squadron, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized). He was the copilot of this Cobra and he was lost with the aircraft. His remains were not recovered following the incident. Today, Warrant Officer 1 Paul 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, findagrave.com, Escanaba Daily Press (1971)

Allard, Richard Michael
Army Sergeant 1st class

Richard Michael Allard from Chesaning, Michigan, Saginaw county.

Service era: Vietnam
Military history: 119th Aviation Company, 52nd Aviation Battalion

Date of death: August 24, 1967
Death details: On August 24, 1967, a UH-1C Iroquois (tail number 66-12526) with four crew members and carrying five passengers took off from Polei Kleng, in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, on a combat support liaison mission to Plei Krong, South Vietnam. The pilot elected to fly at low level along the Krong Bo Lah River. While conducting a 180-degree turn, the aircraft failed to recover and crashed into approximately 10 feet of water in the river. The rainy season caused the river to swell to 100 to 200 meters wide with an approximate current of 20 knots. The river was muddy and debris-filled. Search and rescue helicopters arrived on the scene soon afterward and were able to rescue two of the crew members and two passengers. The other five people aboard the helicopter could not be found by rescuers at the time, although a follow-on search the next month recovered the remains of another passenger. Survivors stated that at least four of the men were swept away by the swift moving current. The remaining two crew members and two passengers were never recovered.
Cemetery: Fort Custer National

Source: National Archives, findagrave.com, Department of Defense

Jakovac, John Andrew Army Staff sergeant

John Andrew Jakovac, age 20, from Detroit, Michigan, Wayne county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: May 31, 1967
Death details: On February 6, 1997, the Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant First Class John Andrew Jakovac, missing from the Vietnam War.
Sergeant First Class Jakovac joined the U.S. Army from Michigan and was a member of the 50th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. On May 31, 1967, he was a member of a long-range reconnaissance patrol in Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam. The patrol was ambushed by enemy forces, and SFC Jakovac was killed in the incident. A search team sent to the patrol’s location did not find SFC Jakovac’s remains. In 1994, a joint U.S. and Vietnamese search team excavated a burial site associated with SFC Jakovac’s loss, and recovered remains there. In February of 1997, some of the recovered remains were identified as those of SFC Jakovac.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Austin, Ellis Ernest
Navy Commander

Ellis Ernest Austin, age 44, from Vermontville, Michigan, Eaton county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: April 21, 1966
Death details: On April 21, 1966, an A-6A Intruder (bureau number 151798) with two crew members took part in a two-plane night attack mission against an enemy supply and barracks area on the coast of North Vietnam. During the mission, the wingman observed a bright flash from the direction of this Intruder. The wingman then lost contact with this aircraft and it disappeared from friendly radar tracking. A surface-to-air missile (SAM) warning had been sounded earlier, but the wingman had no basis to believe a SAM had been launched. Search and rescue efforts were unable to locate this Intruder or either of its crew members.

Lieutenant Commander Ellis Ernest Austin, who entered the U.S. Navy from Michigan, served with Attack Squadron 85. He was the bombardier/navigator aboard this Intruder at the time of its loss on April 21, 1966, and he was lost in the incident and remains unaccounted-for. While carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the U.S. Navy promoted LCDR Austin to the rank of Commander (CDR). Today, CDR Austin is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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