Keith Allen Kline, age 24, from Oak Harbor, Ohio, Ottawa county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company B, 96Th Civil Affairs Battalion, Fort Bragg, Nc
Date of death: Thursday, July 5, 2007
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Cemetery: Oak Harbor Union
Source: Department of Defense, findagrave.com
David Michael Kesterson, age 20, from Port Clinton, Ohio, Ottawa county.
Parents: Richard Kesterson
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, April 2, 1970
Death details: Hostile, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Port Clinton News Herald (1970)
Clyde Wilson Enderle, age 33, from Port Clinton, Ohio, Ottawa county.
Spouse: Juanita Enderle
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, March 19, 1970
Death details: Hostile, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Harold Charles Stamm, age 21, from Oak Harbor, Ohio, Ottawa county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Wednesday, November 1, 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. Sergeant Harold Charles Stamm joined the U.S. Army from Ohio and was a member of Company G of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 1, 1950, Company G was in defensive positions with the 2nd Battalion near Unsan, when it came under intense rocket and mortar attacks and was forced to withdraw. Sergeant Stamm went missing during this action. A Company G survivor of this battle reported that SGT Stamm was shot dead by CCF while attempting to ‘play dead’ along one of the evasion routes; however, he could not recall the particular evasion route. Two other survivors of this battle who were lieutenants of Company G, likewise reported that SGT Stamm was shot and killed while in their small group and trying to evade the enemy south of the Yongsongdong on the Unsan road. No burial or recovery information was reported. Sergeant Stamm was never officially reported as a prisoner of war and his remains have not been identified among any returned to the U.S. following the war. Today, Sergeant Stamm is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Ottawa County Exponent (1950)
Howard L. Hasselkus from Ohio, Ottawa county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, November 22, 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. Sergeant Howard L. Hasselkus joined the U.S. Army from Ohio and served with the 192nd Tank Battalion in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of malaria, pellagra, and scurvy on November 22, 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, Sergeant Hasselkus is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Robert E. Silverwood, age 21, from Ohio, Ottawa county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, August 18, 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 Robert E. Silverwood joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Ohio and served with the 17th Bombardment Squadron, 27th 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 and malaria on August 18, 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 of those recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Private Silverwood is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Chester S. Decant from Ohio, Ottawa county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, July 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 and food and water supplied 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. Technician Fourth Grade Chester S. DeCant joined the U.S. Army from Ohio and was a member of Company C, 192nd Tank Battalion, in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942 and died of malaria on July 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, Technician Fourth Grade DeCant is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency