Plainfield Illinois

Meari, Andrew N.
Army Private 1st class

Andrew N. Meari, age 21, from Plainfield, Illinois, Will county.

Parents: Denise (Gerald) Meehan and Mahmoud (Aisha) Meari

Service era: Afghanistan
Schools: Drauden Point Middle School, Plainfield South High, Port Washington High in Wisconsin graduate
Military history: 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Date of death: Monday, November 1, 2010
Death details: Died in Kandahar, Afghanistan of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Spc. Jonathan M. Curtis was also killed.
Cemetery: Abraham Lincoln National; Elwood, Illinois

Source: National Archives, Chicago Tribune, Herald News, Military Times

Van Us, Jeffrey A.
Army Mechanic

Jeffrey A. Van Us, age 26, from Plainfield, Illinois, Will county. Their last known residence was in Plainfield.

Parents: Dan Van Us and Kathy Eastman

Service era: Iraq
Schools: Joliet West High graduate
Military history: Operations non-commissioned officer who served as a Senior Vehicle Mechanic with Company B, 307th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper. Joined Army in November 2002. Army Commendation Medal (three oak leaf clusters), the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal (three), the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Parachute Badge and the Master Driver Badge (two).

Date of death: Friday, August 14, 2009
Death details: Died after he was found unresponsive in his barracks.

Source: Chicago Tribune, Plainfield Sun, WRAL

Carrington, Fred Emery
Army Warrant officer

Fred Emery Carrington, age 25, from Plainfield, Illinois, Will county.

Spouse: Mary A. Carrington

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, February 11, 1970
Death details: Hostile, died missing in Cambodia

Source: National Archives, Freeport Journal Standard (1970)

Countryman, Arthur
Army Techinican sergeant

Arthur Countryman, age 37, from Plainfield, Illinois.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, November 20, 1944
Death details

On June 14, 2021, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Technical Sergeant Arthur W. Countryman, missing from World War II.

Technical Sergeant Countryman entered the U.S. Army from Illinois and served with Company F, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. On November 20, 1944, he was killed in action near Hürtgen, Germany, while engaged in combat with German forces. TSgt Countryman’s remains were not recovered following his loss. Based on research and analysis, an unknown set of remains recovered from Germany was determined to belong to a member of the 12 Infantry Regiment, killed in November of 1944 on the western side of the Hürtgen plateau. The remains were exhumed and accessioned into the DPAA laboratory, where a multidisciplinary analysis allowed them to be identified as those of TSgt Countryman.

Source: Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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