Christopher Robert Eramo, age 39, from Oneonta, New York, Ostego county.
Parents: Carolyn Eramo, preceded in death by Kari Eramo
Spouse: Jennilee Eramo
Service era: Post War on Terror
Date of death: Thursday, April 27, 2023
Death details: Killed when two helicopter collided in Alaska while returning from a traning mission
Source: New York Post (2023), Daily News Miner (2023)
James Christopher Wheeler, age 20, from Oneonta, New York, Ostego county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, May 20, 1970
Death details: Hostile, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives
Richard Freeman Walton, age 19, from Gilbertsville, New York, Ostego county.
Parents: Richard H. and Betty (Olds) Walton
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Central School
Military history: 101st Airborne Division, medical corps
Date of death: Friday, February 6, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile, South Vietnam; killed in a helicopter crash
Cemetery: Brookside in Gilbertsville
Source: National Archives, Oneonta Star (1970)
Earl Wilfre Jr. Grenzebach from Worcester, New York, Ostego county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: May 12, 1967
Death details: Major Earl Wilfred Grenzebach Jr. entered the U.S. Air Force from New York and was a member of the 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 355th Tactical Fighter Wing. On May 12, 1967, he took off in a single-seat F-105D Thunderchief (tail number 59-1728) as the lead in the flight of two fighters on a mission to attack an enemy storage facility in North Vietnam. While attacking the target, he was hit by enemy fire and crashed. His wingman reported he saw Maj Grenzebach eject from the aircraft prior to the crash and that Maj Grenzebach’s beeper stayed on continuously following the crash; however, the wingman had to leave the area to refuel, and when he returned he could not establish visual contact with Maj Grenzebach. The Major was not seen again, and further attempts to locate him or his remains have been unsuccessful. Following the war, the Air Force promoted Maj Grenzebach to the rank of Colonel. Today, Colonel Grenzebach is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
John A. Miller from New York, Ostego county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, December 1, 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 John A. Miller joined the U.S. Army from New York and served with the 28th Bombardment Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group 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 December 1, 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 First Class Miller is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Cemetery: Hannibal, Missouri
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency