Onodaga County New York

Shumway, Geoffrey Raymond
Navy Lieutenant commander

Geoffrey Raymond Shumway from Skaneateles, New York, Onondaga county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: June 25, 1972
Death details: On June 12, 2002, Joint Task Force–Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Raymond Shumway, missing from the Vietnam War.

Lieutenant Commander Shumway entered the U.S. Navy from New York and served with Attack Squadron 22, Carrier Air Wing 15. On June 25, 1972, he piloted an A-7E Corsair II (bureau number 157437, call sign “Beefeater 311”) that launched from the USS Coral Sea (CVA-43) on an armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. While attacking a target, the aircraft was shot down by enemy fire over Nghe An Province, and LCDR Shumway was killed in the incident. Search efforts did not locate the wreckage and LCDR Shumway’s remains were not recovered at the time. In 1993, a joint U.S./Vietnamese team recovered remains that U.S. analysts eventually identified as those of LCDR Shumway.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

O’brien, Kevin
Army Major

Kevin O’brien from Farmingville, New York, Onondaga county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, January 9, 1969
Death details: 

On January 9, 1969, an O-1G Bird Dog (tail number 51-5059) carrying two crew members took off from Phu Bai Combat Base on a visual reconnaissance mission over South Vietnam. En route, the plane diverted to assist a reconnaissance team that was in enemy contact near Khe Sanh, South Vietnam. After assisting the team and being relieved by another aircraft, the Bird Dog began its return to Phu Bai. Bad weather set in and this aircraft was not instrument equipped, and the pilot reported he was lost. Dong Ha Air Base and other radar controllers tried to determine the aircraft’s last position but were unsuccessful. The Bird Dog disappeared from the radar and all efforts to contact the aircraft went unanswered. The aircraft and its two crew members could not be accounted for.

First Lieutenant Kevin O’Brien entered the U.S. Army from New York and was a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 94th Artillery Regiment, 108th Artillery Group. He was the observer aboard this Bird Dog when it went missing, and he was lost with the aircraft. After the incident, the U.S. Army promoted 1LT O’Brien to the rank of Major (MAJ). Today, Major O’Brien was memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Clark, James Earl
Army Master sergeant

James Earl Clark, age 37, from Onodaga County Jordan, New York .

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, November 4, 1965
Death details: Non-hostile, died missing, South Vietnam

Source: National Archives

Sherwood, Sheldon Alston
Army Private

Sheldon Alston Sherwood, age 21, from New York, Onondaga county.

Service era: Korea
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment

Date of death: Sunday, August 10, 1952
Death details: Died of wounds suffered August 2, 1952 in North Korea
Cemetery: North Norwich Cemetery

Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association

Vingione, John C. Jr.
Army Private 1st Class

John C. Jr. Vingione, age 20, from Lyncourt, New York, Onondaga county.

Parents: John C. Vigione Sr.
Spouse: Single
Children: None

Service era: Korea
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment

Date of death: Sunday, July 23, 1950
Death details: Killed in action, South Korea
Cemetery: Assumption, Syracuse

Source: National Archives, Syracuse Post-Standard, 35th Infantry Regiment Association

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