Tag: Pennington County South Dakota

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Lewis, Lex L.
Army Sergeant

Lex L. Lewis, age 40, from Rapid City, South Dakota, Pennington county.

Parents: Betty Lewis
Spouse: Molly Lewis
Children: Stepdaughter Ariel, 6

Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado

Date of death: Friday, July 15, 2011
Death details: Died after injuries suffered July 15 when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire in Farah Province, Afghanistan.

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

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Welke, Joseph Tyler
Marines Lance corporal

Joseph Tyler Welke, age 20, from Rapid City, South Dakota, Pennington county.

Service era: Iraq
Military history: I Co, 3D Bn, 1St Mar, Rct-1, 1St Mar Div, Camp Pendleton, Ca

Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 2004
Death details: Died at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, of wounds sustained Nov. 19 in enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

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Soyland, David Pecor
Army cw3

David Pecor Soyland, age 26, from South Dakota, Pennington county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Monday, May 17, 1971

Death details: On May 17, 1971, an UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 65-17607) with four crew members took off from Camp Evans, South Vietnam, on a mission to extract a reconnaissance team that was under heavy enemy fire in an area northeast of Khe Sanh, Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. Upon approaching the landing area, the Iroquois began taking heavy enemy fire, and a rocket-propelled grenade hit and severed its tail boom. The Iroquois began banking right and started to turn over, and eventually crashed. After the impact, the aircraft continued to slide to the bottom of a hill in the vicinity of (GC) YD 048268. On May 18, a recovery team that was inserted into the area to recover the bodies of the original reconnaissance team searched the downed helicopter’s wreckage and discovered two crew members alive. The body of one of the other two unaccounted for crew members was also found; however, it was not possible to recover the remains at the time. Two of the four crew members remain unaccounted for.

Warrant Officer 1 David Pecor Soyland entered the U.S. Army from South Dakota and was a member of Company C, 158th Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. He was the aircraft commander of this Iroquois and was lost during the incident. Attempts to recover his remains were unsuccessful. After the incident, the Army promoted WO1 Soyland to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CW3). Today, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Soyland is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Cemetery: Memorialized in Black Hills National

Source: National Archives, grave marker, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency 

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Kuster, Steven Mark
Army Staff sergeant

Steven Mark Kuster, age 21, from Rapid City, South Dakota, Pennington county.

Parents: Henry L. Kuster

Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Rapid City High (1966)
Military history: Special Forces Group, Airborne

Date of death: Saturday, February 7, 1970
Death details: Killed in Vietnam when the truck he was driving struck a land mine.
Cemetery: Black Hills National

Source: National Archives, Rapid City Journal (1970)

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Sprague, Stanley George
Air Force Major

Stanley George Sprague, age 36, from South Dakota, Pennington county.

Service era: Vietnam
Military history: Purple Heart

Date of death: Monday, September 12, 1966

Death details: On January 11, 1991, the Central Identification Lab-Hawaii (CILHI, now DPAA) identified the remains of Major Stanley George Sprague, missing from the Vietnam War. Major Sprague, who joined the U.S. Air Force from South Dakota, served with the 602nd Tactical Fighter Squadron. On September 12, 1966, he piloted an A-1E Skyraider (serial number 52-133928) departing from Udorn, Thailand on a reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. During the mission, the Skyraider was shot down and Major Sprague was killed. Hostile presence in the area inhibited search efforts during the war and his remains were not recovered at the time. In 1990, the Vietnamese government repatriated remains which were later identified as those of Major Sprague. Major Sprague is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.
Cemetery: Memorialized in Black Hills National

Source: National Archives, grave marker

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Moser, Verdon A.
Army Private 1st class

Verdon A. Moser, age 25, from South Dakota, Pennington county.

Service era: World War II
Military history: 32nd Infantry

Date of death: Saturday, October 28, 1944
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: Memorialized in Black Hills National

Source: National Archives, grave marker

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Holly, Robert J.
Army 2nd lieuatenant

Robert J. Holly from South Dakota, Pennington county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, February 22, 1944
Death details: On February 22, 1944, a B-25G Mitchell (serial number 42-64779) with a crew of seven took off from Kurmitola, India, for a bombing mission against railroads in Monywa, Burma. While en route to the target, another aircraft crew on the mission witnessed the Mitchell catch fire and crash into a field on the banks of the Chindwin River, near Letpadaung, Burma. Witnesses did not report seeing any signs of survivors, and enemy presence in the area prevented searches of the crash site at the time. Post-war investigations discovered that, following the crash, Japanese soldiers had commanded Burmese locals to search and strip the wreckage of the B-25G and bury the bodies of the crew. Subsequent American search efforts to locate the remains of the crew from the crash site were unsuccessful, and all seven are still missing. Second Lieutenant Robert J. Holly entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from South Dakota and was a member of the 490th Bombardment Squadron, 341st Bombardment Group (Medium). He was the copilot of this Mitchell when it went down. He was killed in the crash and his body was reportedly buried by Japanese forces when the plane wreckage was stripped, but he was not recovered or identified by subsequent U.S. recovery efforts. Today, Second Lieutenant Holly 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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Peyton, Glen M.
Army Sergeant

Glen M. Peyton, age 21, from South Dakota, Pennington county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Friday, August 20, 1943
Death details: Died non-battle
Cemetery: Memorialized in Black Hills National

Source: National Archives, grave marker

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Henrichsen, Jimmie Lee
Navy Seaman 2nd class

Jimmie Lee Henrichsen, age 24, from Pennington County Rapid City, South Dakota .

Parents: John Henrichsen

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Oklahoma. Body not recovered

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Rapid City Journal (1943)

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Rogers, Walter Boone
Navy Fireman 1st class

Walter Boone Rogers, age 22, from Pennington County Rapid City, South Dakota .

Parents: Burt Rogers

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Oklahoma. Accounted for February 21, 2017

Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Rapid City Journal (1942)