Kenneth Sandford Bercier, age 21, from Montana, Silver Bow county.
Parents: Ruth Andreson
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, December 28, 1970
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Emil John Naasz, age 22, from Montana, Roosevelt county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, September 5, 1970
Source: National Archives
Keith Edward Utter, age 21, from Montana, Lincoln county.
Parents: Lee Utter
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, July 14, 1970
Cemetery: Tobacco Valley
Source: National Archives, Spokesman Review (1970)
William Eugene Taylor, age 19, from Montana, Yellowstone county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, March 23, 1970
Source: National Archives
Michael Edward Styer, age 40, from Montana, Roosevelt county.
Spouse: Faye
Children: Michael J, Chris, Deborah
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Santa Clara College, University of Colorado (1961)
Date of death: Tuesday, January 13, 1970
Death details: Died in an aircraft accident in Guam while enroute to a new assignment in the Midwest.
Cemetery: Saint Francis
Source: National Archives, Arizona Republic (1970)
George Robert Smith from Montana, Jefferson county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Tuesday, December 12, 1950
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. Corporal George Robert Smith, who joined the U.S. Army from Montana, served with L Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces on July 11 during his unit’s delaying actions between Pyongtaek and Chochiwon. He was forced to march to the Apex prison camps in North Korea, and died of malnutrition at the camp at Hanjang-ni on December 12, 1950. Although his companions buried him near the camp, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Corporal Smith is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Patrick Thomas Cassatt from Montana, Silver Bow county. Their last known residence was in Brookville, Pennsylvania.
Parents: Darwin Gilbert Cassatt
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: During the last week of October 1950, Republic of Korea (ROK) Army forces under the control of the U.S. Eighth Army were advancing deep in North Korean territory, approaching the Yalu River on the Chinese-Korean border. Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) struck back in a surprise attack, engaging the ROK 1st and 6th Divisions near Unsan, some sixty miles north of Pyongyang. The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment in the lead, was rushed forward to reinforce the ROK units in the Unsan area. On November 1, the regiment’s 1st Battalion took up positions north of Unsan, while the 2nd Battalion moved to guard the Nammyon River valley west of town, and the 3rd Battalion was placed in reserve at the valley’s southern end. Private First Class Patrick Thomas Cassatt, who joined the U.S. Army from Montana, was a member of Company E of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 1, 1950, he was with members of Company E defending its sector near Unsan; his unit came under heavy enemy fire and he went missing during the chaotic fighting that followed. He was not listed as a prisoner of war, and his remains have not been recovered or identified following the ceasefire. Today, Private First Class Cassatt is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Montana Standard (1950), Indiana Gazette (1954)
Donald H. Surber, age 20, from Montana, Fergus county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 6, 1942
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor, with food and water extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves, often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Private Donald H. Surber joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Montana and served with the 19th Air Base Squadron, 20th Air Base Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of beriberi on December 6, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Private Surber is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Arvid K. Nelson from Montana, Roosevelt county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Wednesday, October 28, 1942
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor, with food and water extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves, often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Private First Class Arvid K. Nelson entered the U.S. Army from Montana and served with the 31st Infantry Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of malnutrition on October 28, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Private Nelson is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Frank Lafromboise from Montana, Hill county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Wednesday, October 21, 1942
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor, with food and water extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves, often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Private Frank LaFromboise entered the U.S. Army from Montana and served in Battery E of the 60th Coast Artillery Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured on Corregidor Island following the American surrender on May 6, 1942, and died of f dysentery on October 21, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Private LaFromboise is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency