Edmund Wayne McDonald, age 25, from Portland, Maine, Cumberland county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company B, 782d Combat Support Battalion, 4th Bct, Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Date of death: Thursday, March 29, 2007
Death details: Died from injuries suffered in a non-combat vehicle accident Bagram, Afghanistan
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Christopher David Gelineau, age 23, from Portland, Maine, Cumberland county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Headquarters Service Company, 133rd Engineer Battalion, Portland, Maine 04345
Date of death: Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense
John Everett Duffy, age 32, from Portland, Maine, Cumberland county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: April 4, 1970
Death details: On February 12, 1996, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Captain John Everett Duffy, missing from the Vietnam War.
Captain Duffy joined the U.S. Air Force from Maine and was a member of the 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron. On April 4, 1970, he piloted an O-2A Skymaster (serial number 68-11058) on a visual reconnaissance flight over Vietnam. Captain Duffy’s Skymaster went down at some point during the mission, and Capt Duffy died in the incident. Search and rescue efforts were unsuccessful in locating the Skymaster or its crew. In June 1993, a joint U.S. and Vietnamese investigative team recovered remains from a site associated with Capt Duffy’s loss. In 1996, forensic analysis identified the recovered remains as those of Capt Duffy.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
William Ross Bond, age 51, from Portland, Maine, Cumberland county.
Spouse: Preceded in death by Theodora (Sedgwick)
Service era: Vietnam
Military history: 199th Infantry Brigade. He served in the Army 28 years and during World War II he was captured three times in Poland, Germany and Italy.
Date of death: Wednesday, April 1, 1970
Death details: Killed by Vet Cong rifle fire in Vietnam.
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970), Boston Globe (1970), Roanoke Times (1970)
Paul Everett Getchell, age 42, from Portland, Maine, Cumberland county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: January 13, 1969
Death details: Lieutenant Colonel Getchell entered the U.S. Air Force from Maine and was a member of the 8th Tactical Bombardment Squadron. On January 13, 1969, he copiloted a B-57B Canberra on a night combat mission against enemy targets in Slavan Province, Laos. The target area was illuminated by flares from a C-130 flare ship; however, the flares dimmed as the B-57 began its third bombing run on the target. Reporting they were low on fuel, the crew continued their attack run without illumination. The C-130 crew received a radio transmission indicating that the B-57 was off-target, and seconds later, the plane crashed, killing Lt Col Getchell and the other crew member. Their remains could not be recovered at the time of the incident. However, between 1995 and 2005, excavations recovered material evidence and human remains from the crash site. Modern forensic techniques were eventually able to identify Lt Col Getchell from the remains recovered.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Edward Joseph Darcy, age 39, from Portland, Maine, Cumberland county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: December 29, 1967
Death details: On March 10, 2000, Joint Task Force–Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Command Master Sergeant Edward Joseph Darcy, missing from the Vietnam War.
Command Master Sergeant Darcy entered the U.S. Air Force from Maine and served with the 314th Tactical Airlift Wing. On December 29, 1967, he was a crew member aboard a C-130E Hercules (tail number 64-0547) that took off from Nha Trang Air Base, South Vietnam, on a mission over North Vietnam. While flying over Lai Chau Province en route to the target, the aircraft crashed into a mountainside, killing CMSgt Darcy. His remains were not recovered at the time. Between 1992 and 1995, a joint U.S./Vietnamese team located and investigated the crash site, where they recovered human remains. In 1993, the Vietnamese government also turned over human remains and artifacts associated with this loss. In 2000, U.S. investigators identified CMSgt Darcy from these remains.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Malcolm D. Perkins, age 18, from Portland, Maine, Cumberland county.
Service era: Korea
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment
Date of death: Monday, November 27, 1950
Death details: Died while captured, North Korea
Cemetery: Arlington National
Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association
John F. Jr. Presnell, age 29, from Cumberland County Portland, Maine .
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Friday, January 19, 1945
Death details: On December 13, 1944, Japanese forces in the Philippines began the transfer of 1,621 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) to Japan. The POWs were to make the journey aboard transport ships whose harsh conditions and extreme overcrowding led survivors to refer to them as “Hell Ships.” The ships also lacked markings that would distinguish them from any other military target, causing some of them to be attacked by Allied forces who could not identify them as POW transports. On December 14, 1944, Allied aircraft attacked the first ship, the Oryoku Maru, in Subic Bay in the Philippines, killing many Allied POWs who became lost in the water, sank with the ship, or were washed ashore. Survivors of the bombing were put aboard two other ships, the Enoura Maru and the Brazil Maru, to continue on to Japan. During its journey on January 9, 1945, while anchored in Takao Harbor, Formosa (present-day Taiwan), the Enoura Maru was attacked by Allied aircraft from the USS Hornet (CV-8), killing Allied POWs who were lost in the water, on board the ship, or on the nearby shore. Survivors of the Enoura Maru bombing were loaded onto the Brazil Maru, and reached Japan on January 30, 1945. As a result of these incidents, Allied POWs were lost in the Philippines, at sea between the Philippines and Taiwan, while anchored in Taiwan, at sea between Taiwan and Japan, and in Japan. The attacks on these POW transports ultimately resulted in a series of death notifications from the Japanese government through the International Red Cross (IRC), and some casualties were given up to five different dates of death at various locations during the transfer. Witness accounts from surviving POWs offer detailed information for a handful of casualties, but the specific dates of loss and/or last-known locations for many of these POWs are based on the most recent reported date of death. Major John F. Presnell Jr. entered the U.S. Army from Maine and served with the 14th Engineers Regiment (Philippine Scouts) in the Philippines during World War II. He was taken as a POW following the Japanese invasion and was interned in the islands until December 1944, when he was transferred to the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. He survived the attack on the Oryoku Maru and was eventually transferred to the Brazil Maru. Records indicate that MAJ Presnell died of starvation and exposure while aboard the Brazil Maru on January 19, 1945, and was buried at sea. However, these records often involve information solely furnished by enemy governments, with some casualties given multiple dates of death. Future research may determine these reports were inaccurate. MAJ Presnell’s remains could not be identified following the war and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, MAJ Presnell is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines. Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Portland Press Herald (1945)