Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Dean R. Shaffer, age 23, from Pekin, Illinois, Tazewell county.
Service era: Afghanistan
Date of death: Thursday, April 19, 2012
Death details: Died in Helmand Province, Afghanistan when his Black Hawk (UH-60) crashed. Killed were CWO Nicholas S. Johnson, CWO Don C. Viray, Sgt. Chris J. Workman, Sgt Dean R. Shaffer
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Jordan S. Bastean, age 19, from Pekin, Illinois, Jefferson county.
Parents: Steven Phillip and Kathy Rae (Leichtenberg) Bastean
Service era: Afghanistan
Schools: Pekin High (2010)
Military history: 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, California.
Date of death: Sunday, October 23, 2011
Death details: Died while conducting combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Cemetery: Prairie Haven Cemetery in Pekin
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times, legacy.com
Albert Strange, age 18, from Pekin, Illinois, Tazewell county.
Parents: Walter F. Strange
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: On September 18, 2017, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced its identification of the remains of Private First Class Albert Strange, missing from World War II. Private First Class Strange, who entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Illinois, was a member of Company E, 2nd Marine Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, which took part in the Battle of Tarawa. On November 20, 1943, he was killed in action during the U.S. assault on the Japanese-controlled Betio Island in Tarawa Attol. PFC Strange was reportedly buried in a cemetery on Betio, but investigations of the area immediately after the war failed to locate or identify his remains. In 2017, DPAA partnered with History Flight Group, Inc., and returned to Betio where they located sites believed to contain the remains of U.S. military members. Following excavation of one of the sites, human remains and material evidence were collected and accessioned to a DPAA laboratory. U.S. analysts used modern forensic techniques to identify PFC Strange from among these collective remains.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency