Riverside County California

Skeen, Richard Robert
Navy Commander

Richard Robert Skeen, age 39, from Riverside, California, Riverside county.

Spouse: Shirley Ann Skeen

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Saturday, May 16, 1970
Death details: On May 16, 1970, an EKA-3B Skywarrior (bureau number 142657, call sign “Homebrew 615”) carrying three crew members took off from Cubi Point, Philippines, on a transport mission. During the mission, “Homebrew 615” crashed in to the Gulf of Tonkin in the vicinity of (GC) 49Q BU 368 386, due to unknown causes. An extensive search was immediately conducted, which recovered and identified the remains of the navigator from “Homebrew 615’s” crew. The other two crew members of the aircraft are still unaccounted for. Commander Richard Robert Skeen, who joined the U.S. Navy from California, was a member of Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 135. He was the pilot of “Homebrew 615” when it went down, and was lost with the aircraft. His remains were not recovered following the incident. Today, Commander Skeen is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. 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

Delgado, Francisco Pena
Army Corporal

Francisco Pena Delgado, age 20, from Coachella, California, Riverside county.

Spouse: Ignacia D. Delgado

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, May 7, 1970
Death details: Killed in action

Source: National Archives, Los Angeles Times (1970)

Robinson, Gus Blakely
Army Captain

Gus Blakely Robinson, age 27, from Hemet, California, Riverside county.

Parents: Walter Robinson
Spouse: Denise, Suzanne, 8 months

Service era: Vietnam
Schools: West Point (1967, Los Angeles City College
Military history: 17th Air Calvalry

Date of death: Sunday, April 12, 1970
Death details: Died in South Vietnam when the helicopter he was piloting crashed under enemy fire.
Cemetery: West Point

Source: National Archives, Hackensack Record (1970)

Saenz, Edmond
Army Sergeant 1st class

Edmond Saenz from Lakeview Terrace, California, Riverside county.

Spouse: Married

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Friday, March 16, 1962
Death details: Among 93 soldiers aboard a transport plane on a “secret mission” to Vietnam. Wreaths Across America in 2021: “Very little is known about what happened to the plane and its passengers, and due to the circumstance surrounding this mission, the names of those lost have not yet been added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.”
Cemetery: A memorial honoring the lives lost was dedicated in 2021 in Columbia Falls, Maine

Source: Atlanta Counstitution (1962), MauiNow (2021), UPI (1962)

Croskrey, Richard Glenn
Air Force Captain

Richard Glenn Croskrey from Riverside, California, Riverside county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, January 25, 1951
Death details: Captain Richard Glenn Croskrey, who joined the U.S. Air Force from California, was a member of the 9th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 49th Fighter-Bomber Group. On January 25, 1951, he took off from Taegu Air Base, South Korea, in a F-80C Shooting Star (tail number 49-825A) as the lead aircraft in a four-plane dive bombing mission against enemy rail targets near Sogu-ri, North Korea. The target area was partially obscured by smoke from prior bombing runs, and as Capt Croskrey made his run over the target, he flew through the clouds of smoke. Witnesses aboard other aircraft in the formation reported that Capt Croskrey’s Shooting Star was on fire when it emerged on the other side of the target. The burning aircraft then crashed into a hill near the target and exploded. There was no indication that Capt Croskrey escaped the plane before it went down, and the presence of enemy troops in the area prevented a ground search of the crash site. His remains have not been located, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Captain Croskrey is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Miller, Wayne Kenneth
Marines Sergeant

Wayne Kenneth Miller, age 40, from Riverside County Riverside, California .

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, December 31, 1944
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 the journey, 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. Sergeant Major Wayne K. Miller entered the U.S. Marine Corps from California and served with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment. Captured by the Japanese in the spring of 1942 after the surrender of U.S. forces on Corregidor Island in the Philippines, and incarcerated at Cabanatuan POW camp in Nueva Ecija Province, SGM Miller is believed to have died aboard the transport ship Enoura Maru en route to Takao Harbor on December 31, 1944. He has not been associated with any remains recovered from the area after the war and is still unaccounted-for. Today, Sergeant Major Miller is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Republic of the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Collins, Frederick G.
Army Corporal

Frederick G. Collins from California, Riverside county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Thursday, November 19, 1942
Death details: On June 7, 2016, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Corporal Frederick G. Collins Jr., missing from World War II. Corporal Collins entered the U.S. Army from California and served in the 263rd Quartermaster Company, Quartermaster Corps in Manila during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. Following the American Surrender on Bataan in April 1942, CPL Collins was captured and forced on the Bataan Death March northward to permanent camps. He was interned first at Camp O’Donnell and later at Cabanatuan where he died on or about November 19, 1942. CPL Collins was buried in Common Grave 717 at Cabanatuan, but he was not identified from among remains that were recovered from the camp following the liberation of the Philippines. In 2014, a set of unknown remains were exhumed from Common Grave 717 and analysts used modern forensic tools to individually identify them as belonging to CPL Collins.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Condos, James
Army Private

James Condos from California, Riverside county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Wednesday, August 26, 1942
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor, with food and water extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves, often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Private James Condos entered the U.S. Army from California and served with the 31st Infantry Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942 and died of malaria on August 26, 1942 at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Private Condos is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Haskett, Thomas G.
Army Technician 5

Thomas G. Haskett from California, Riverside county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Thursday, July 23, 1942
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor, with food and water extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves, often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Technician Fifth Grade Thomas Garvin Haskett, who joined the U.S. Army from California, served with Company M of the 31st Infantry Division. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of malaria on July 23, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Technician Fifth Grade Haskett 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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