Maurilio Mendez, age 19, from Greenfield, California, Monterey county.
Parents: Rogelis Mendez
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, June 14, 1970
Death details: Died in Indichina
Source: National Archives, San Francisco Examiner (1970)
John Wade Jr. Long, age 19, from Salinas, California, Monterey county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, June 10, 1970
Death details: Body recovered
Source: National Archives
John Calvin Sherman, age 19, from Seaside, California, Monterey county.
Parents: Calvin Fate Sr.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, May 2, 1970
Death details: Body recovered
Source: National Archives, Fort Worth Star Telegram (1970)
Thomas Chaney, age 19, from Greenfield, California, Monterey county.
Parents: Lydia Chaney
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: King City High (1969), Hartnell College
Date of death: Friday, March 6, 1970
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, The Californian (1970)
Mark Steven Diorio, age 19, from Salinas, California, Monterey county.
Parents: Stepfather Jerry Prouty
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Soquel High (1968)
Date of death: Thursday, February 26, 1970
Death details: Killed in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Santa Cruz Sentinel (1970)
Nicholas Nichols Jr., age 25, from Seaside, California, Monterey county.
Spouse: Rita P. Nichols
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, March 16, 1962
Death details: Among 93 soldiers aboard a transport plane on a “secret mission” to Vietnam. Wreaths Across America in 2021: “Very little is known about what happened to the plane and its passengers, and due to the circumstance surrounding this mission, the names of those lost have not yet been added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.”
Cemetery: A memorial honoring the lives lost was dedicated in 2021 in Columbia Falls, Maine
Source: Atlanta Counstitution (1962), MauiNow (2021), UPI (1962)
Robert Samuel Smith, age 21, from Monterey, California, Monterey county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Tuesday, June 12, 1951
Death details: Killed aboard the destroyer USS Walke which was was providing anti-submarine protection to carriers from Task Force 77 off the east coast of Wonsan, North Korea, when it was struck on the port side by an enemy mine or torpedo. The force of the explosion tossed many sailors into the water, and those who were injured had a difficult time staying afloat while they waited for rescue. Twenty-six sailors were killed in the explosion and forty were wounded.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Robert Nathaniel Stone, age 24, from Monterey, California, Monterey county.
Spouse: Lois Stone
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Tuesday, June 12, 1951
Death details: On June 12, 1951, the destroyer USS Walke (DD-723) was providing anti-submarine protection to carriers from Task Force 77 off the east coast of Wonsan, North Korea, when it was struck on the port side by an enemy mine or torpedo. The force of the explosion tossed many sailors into the water, and those who were injured had a difficult time staying afloat while they waited for rescue. Twenty-six sailors were killed in the explosion and forty were wounded. Although the ship’s hull was heavily damaged, after the incident the Walke was able to proceed under its own power to Sasebo, Japan, for repairs. Of the men killed in the incident, the remains of eight could not be recovered. During repairs, the remains of seven sailors were recovered from flooded parts of the ship and identified. However, two of those men later became unaccounted-for due to unknown circumstances, so the total number of unaccounted-for sailors from the Walke now stands at ten. Machinist’s Mate Third Class Robert Nathan Stone, who joined the U.S. Navy from California, served aboard the Walke. He was killed in the June 12 explosion after his ship hit a mine and his body could not be recovered. Today, Machinist’s Mate Third Class Stone is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, The Californian (1951)
Beverly Idell Arnold, age 39, from Ventura, California, Monterey county.
Spouse: Panchita G. Arnold
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. Captain Beverly Idell Arnold, who joined the U.S. Army from California, was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. By midnight on November 1, 1950, CPT Arnold’s unit was forced to withdraw from the Unsan Area. The 3rd Battalion was the last to withdraw, and was subsequently surrounded and cut off from Allied forces. They formed a defensive perimeter and withstood attacks for the next few days before survivors either broke out to avoid capture or surrendered. Following the offensive, Captain Arnold suffered a severe leg wound while attempting to evade capture on November 4 or 5 when he was south of Unsan. He was not seen or heard from again by the other evaders, and attempts to locate him or identify his remains following the war were unsuccessful. Today, Captain Arnold is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, San Bernardino County Sun (1954)
Jose Maria Parra, age 23, from Salinas, California, Monterey county.
Parents: Mrs. Refugio C. Avina
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: On October 23, 2008, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant First Class Jose Maria Parra, missing from the Korean War. Sergeant First Class Parra entered the U.S. Army from California and served with Battery C, 99th Field Artillery Battalion, attached to the 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 1, 1950, members of Battery C were supporting elements of the 1st Cavalry Division near Unsan, North Korea. That day, Chinese Communist Forces struck the 1st Cavalry Division’s lines, collapsing the perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. SFC Parra’s unit was waiting in reserve in the Naammyong River valley’s southern end when he was killed by the enemy during this action. His body was not recovered at the time. In 1993, the North Korean government turned over remains of U.S. service members who were lost during the Korean War, and because of advances in forensic technology, U.S. scientists eventually identified SFC Parra from these remains.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, San Bernardino County Sun (1954)