Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Sherwood Russell Baker, age 30, from Plymouth, Pennsylvania, Luzerne county.
Service era: Iraq – Operation Iraqi Freedom
Military history: B Company, 2d Battalion, 103d Armor, Tamaqua, Pennsylvania
Date of death: Monday, April 26, 2004
Death details: Hostile, died in Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Joseph Francis Krishefski, age 21, from Luzerne County Plymouth, Pennsylvania .
Parents: Blanche Krishefski
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 30, 1950
Death details: By mid-November 1950, U.S. and Allied forces had advanced to within approximately sixty miles of the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China. On November 25, approximately 300,000 Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) “volunteers” suddenly and fiercely counterattacked after crossing the Yalu. The 2nd Infantry Division, located the farthest north of units at the Chongchon River, could not halt the CCF advance and was ordered to withdraw to defensive positions at Sunchon in the South Pyongan province of North Korea. As the division pulled back from Kunu-ri toward Sunchon, it conducted an intense rearguard action while fighting to break through well-defended roadblocks set up by CCF infiltrators. The withdrawal was not complete until December 1, and the 2nd Infantry Division suffered extremely heavy casualties in the process. Corporal Joseph Francis Krishefski, who joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania, served with D Company, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing on November 30, 1950, during his unit’s withdrawal from Kunu-ri toward Sunchon, North Korea. No one saw him fall in battle, and he was not reported as a prisoner of war. His remains have not been identified among any returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Corporal Krishefski is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Wilkes-Barre Times Leader (1954)
Chester Wentko, age 29, from Plymouth, Pennsylvania, Luzerne county.
Parents: Agnes Wentko
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 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. Corporal Chester Wentko joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania and was a member of Company I of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, members of Company I were in defensive positions with the 3rd Battalion near Unsan when they received orders to withdraw. The 3rd Battalion was the last unit in the withdrawal sequence and experienced heavy and constant attacks by the CCF. Corporal Wentko was reported missing during the withdrawal’s rear-guard action, though specific details surrounding his loss are unknown. He was not reported as a prisoner of war, nor has he been identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Corporal Wentko is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Wilkes Barre Times Leader (1954)
Hugh L. Fargus, age 27, from Plymouth, Pennsylvania, Luzerne county.
Parents: Mary Jones
Service era: Korea
Military history: Battery B, 109th Field Artillery Battalion, Pennsylvania National Guard
Date of death: Monday, September 11, 1950
Source: Scranton Times Tribune (1950), Wilkes Barre Times Leader (1950)