Jenkins, Gerald Robert
Army Specialist
Gerald Robert Jenkins, age 19, from Circleville, Ohio, Pickaway county.
Parents: Roger Jenkins and Carla Haddox McNamara
Spouse: None
Children: None
Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 1st Brigade Special Troop Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Enlisted October 2008.
Date of death: Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Death details: Died in Maquan, Zhari District, Afghanistan of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.
Cemetery: Forest
Source: National Archives, Columbus Dispatch, Military Times
landed safely without injury but were unable to link up with each other following the ejection, although the pilot did manage to make radio contact with other aircraft on the mission. Several rescue attempts were made prior to nightfall but were unsuccessful, and both crew members maintained radio silence through the night. The next morning, both men established radio contact with rescue aircraft; however, only one was recovered that morning. He reported that an enemy patrol was moving through the area towards the other downed crew member. As they continued to search for the downed crew member, they heard small arms fire, and were unable to establish radio contact with him after. Search efforts continued into the next day but were unsuccessful. Major Eugene Lacy Wheeler entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Ohio and served in the 24th Marine Observation Squadron, Marine Air Group 11, 1st Marine Air Wing. He was the pilot of the OV-10A when it crashed and is the crew member who was not rescued following the incident. Further attempts to locate him or his remains were unsuccessful. Today, Major Wheeler is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.