Muscatine County Iowa

Baldwin, Robert F.
Army Lieutenant colonel

Robert F. Baldwin, age 39, from Muscatine, Iowa, Muscatine county.

Parents: Gary Baldwin and Cherie Baldwin
Spouse: Danielle Baldwin (married June 23, 2001)
Children: Rachel Baldwin, 8; Keegan, 4; Meaghan, 3; Patrick, 7 months

Service era: Afghanistan
Schools: Sherrard High (1989), Western Illinois University (1993), School of Advanced Military Studies, Kansas State University (2006)
Military history: 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Enlisted February 1994.

Date of death: Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Death details: Died in a helicopter crash during combat operations in Zabul Province, Afghanistan. Killed were Brendan J. Looney, David B. McLendon, Adam O. Smith, Denis C. Miranda, Robert F. Baldwin, Matthew G. Wagstaff, Jonah D. McClellan, Joshua D. Powell, Marvin R. Calhoun Jr.
Cemetery: Arlington National

Source: Department of Defense, The Leaf Chronicle, Military Times

Tharp, Jerry Allen
Navy Petty officer 1st class

Jerry Allen Tharp, age 44, from Muscatine, Iowa, Muscatine county.

Service era: Iraq
Military history: Nav Mob Const Batt 25, Fort Mccoy, Wisconsin

Date of death: Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Death details: Hostile; Al Anbar, Iraq

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

Smith, Bruce Alan
Army Chief warrant officer 4

Bruce Alan Smith, age 41, from West Liberty, Iowa, Muscatine county.

Service era: Iraq
Military history: Detachment 1 Company F 106Th Aviation Battalion, Davenport, Ia 52804

Date of death: Sunday, November 2, 2003
Death details: Hostile; Al Fallujah, Iraq

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

Cozad, William Morris
Army Corporal

William Morris Cozad, age 21, from Muscatine, Iowa, Muscatine county.

Parents: William C. Cozad
Spouse: Barbara (Curry)
Children: Diana

Service era: Vietnam
Military history: 1st Cavalry Division

Date of death: Wednesday, May 13, 1970
Death details: Hostile in Cambodia

Source: National Archives, Rock Island Argus (1970)

King, Charles Douglas Air Force Master Sergeant

Charles Douglas King, age 22, from Muscatine, Iowa, Muscatine county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: December 25, 1968
Death details: Hostile, missing, body not recovered in Laos.

Silver Star citation: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Airman First Class Charles Douglas King, United States Air Force, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy while serving as a Pararescue Specialist in an HH-3E Rescue Helicopter of Detachment 1, 40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, 3d Air Rescue and Recovery Group, Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand, in action in Southeast Asia, on 17 September 1968. On that date, while under heavy ground fire, Airman King voluntarily descended on the rescue hoist to recover a seriously injured Air Force pilot. While he was on the ground his aircraft again came under heavy fire, but Airman King continued cutting the man loose from his harness and immobilizing his fractured limbs until he could drag the inert pilot to the forest perimeter and have him hoisted to safety. By his gallantry and devotion to duty, Airman King has reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

Source: National Archives, Military Times, findagrave.com

Schenk, Everett Dean
Army Private 1st class

Everett Dean Schenk, age 18, from Iowa, Muscatine county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, July 9, 1953
Death details: On July 6, 1953, a large Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) unit attacked and overran the U.S. Army outposts on Pork Chop Hill in an attempt to seize whatever territory possible before the impending armistice agreement. After fighting for the position for four days, on July 10, the 7th Infantry Division Commander determined that the CCF disregard for casualties and desire to hold the outpost outweighed the position’s tactical value, and ordered a withdrawal that was eventually completed on July 11. The U.S. never again controlled Pork Chop Hill, preventing thorough recovery efforts for those who were killed or went missing during the fighting. Corporal Everette Dean Schenk, who joined the U.S. Army from Iowa, served with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He went missing in action on July 9 as his unit fought the CCF for control of Pork Chop Hill. He was not seen to fall in battle, and he was not reported to be a prisoner of war. After the ceasefire, the area where he fell became part of the Demilitarized Zone, and his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody. Today, Corporal Schenk is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Ryan, Clifford Lavern
Army Master sergeant

Clifford Lavern Ryan, age 27, from Iowa, Muscatine county.

Parents: Delmar L. Ryan
Spouse: Helen Ryan

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Wednesday, November 1, 1950
Death details: On January 22, 2011, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Master Sergeant Clifford Lavern Ryan, missing from the Korean War. Master Sergeant Ryan entered the U.S. Army from Iowa and served with Company B, 70th Medium Tank Battalion, attached to the 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 1, 1950, his company was supporting elements of the 1st Cavalry Division near Unsan, North Korea, north of a bend in the Kuryong River known as the “Camel’s Head Bend.” That day, Chinese Communist Forces struck the 1st Cavalry Division’s lines, collapsing the perimeter and forcing a withdrawal, and MSG Ryan did not survive this action. His body was not recovered at the time. In 2000, a joint U.S./North Korean investigative team excavated a mass grave that had been discovered in Unsan and recovered human remains, and in 2007, advances in forensic technology allowed U.S. scientists to identify MSG Ryan from these remains.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Muscatine Journal (1951)

Young, Warren
Army Private

Warren Young, age 21, from Iowa, Muscatine county.

Service era: World War II
Military history: Medical Department

Date of death: Saturday, September 12, 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 Warren Young entered the U.S. Army from Iowa and served with the Medical Detachment in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of dysentery on September 12, 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 Young is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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