Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
James Clinton DeFranco, age 19, from Rochester, New York, Monroe county.
Parents: James and Mary DeFranco
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: East High, Edison Technical and Industiral High (1967)
Date of death: Saturday, February 21, 1970
Death details: Found dead in his bunk in South Vietnam. He died from pneumonia.
Cemetery: White Haven Memorial Park
Source: National Archives, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (1970)
Edward Clark III Caldwell, age 23, from Rochester, New York, Monroe county.
Parents: Edward C. Caldwell
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Brighton High (1964), University of Toledo
Date of death: Friday, February 20, 1970
Death details: Died in South Vietnam from pneumonia
Source: National Archives, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (1970)
Francis George Graziosi, age 19, from Rochester, New York, Monroe county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: January 10, 1970
Death details: On December 6, 2006, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant First Class Francis George Graziosi, missing from the Vietnam War.
Sergeant First Class Graziosi joined the U.S. Army from New York and was a member of the 178th Aviation Company, 14th Battalion, 16th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Division. On January 10, 1970, he was the door gunner aboard a UH-1C Iroquois carrying three other crew members on a return flight to their base at Chu Lai, Vietnam. Inclement weather caused the helicopter to crash in Quang Nam Province, and SFC Graziosi and the rest of the crew were killed in the incident. Immediate search efforts were unable to locate the helicopter’s crash site. However, in 1994, a local informant led a joint U.S./Vietnamese search team to a burial site in Quang Nam Province. Excavations of the site found several sets of remains, including those of the UH-1C’s crew. In 2006, modern forensic techniques allowed for the identification of SFC Graziosi among the remains recovered.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Patrick Robert Glennon, age 27, from Rochester, New York, Monroe county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Wednesday, November 1, 1950
Death details: On September 2, 2010, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Corporal Patrick Robert Glennon, missing from the Korean War. Corporal Glennon entered the U.S. Army from New York and served with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 1, 1950, members of Company G were occupying a defensive position near Unsan, North Korea, north of a bend in the Kuryong River known as the “Camel’s Head Bend.” That day, elements of the Chinese Communist Forces struck the 1st Cavalry Division’s lines, collapsing the perimeter and forcing a withdrawal, and CPL Glennon did not survive the heavy fighting. No specific details surrounding his loss are known, and his body was not located or recovered at the time. In April 2007, the North Korean government repatriated human remains of American service members recovered from combat areas near Unsan, and U.S. analysts identified CPL Glennon from among these remains.
Cemetery: Arlington National
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Ralph Donald Juson from Rochester, New York, Monroe county.
Spouse: Clara Juson
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Monday, December 18, 1944
Death details: He was aboard the destroyer USS Hull as it operated as part of the Fast Carrier Strike Force in the Philippine Sea. On December 17, 1944, the Hull was participating in refueling operations when the ships of its fueling group were engulfed by Typhoon Cobra. The Hull lost its ability to steer amid the enormous waves and began taking on water. The Hull eventually took on too much water to stay afloat and rolled and sank shortly before noon, on December 18. Sixty-two crew members were rescued, but a little more than two-hundred crew members were lost in the sinking.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Charles Andrews, age 25, from Rochester, New York, Monroe county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Monday, December 4, 1944
Death details: Om May 6, 2020, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private Charles Andrews, missing from World War II. Private Andrews joined the U.S. Army from New York and was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division. He fought in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest and was killed in action near Brandenburg, Germany. Private Andrews’ remains were not recovered or identified immediately following his loss. Following a study of the combat around the recovery area of a set of unknown remains, DPAA historians determined the remains were likely associated with a soldier lost near Brandenburg. After a multidisciplinary analysis, the remains were identified as those of Private Andrews.
Cemetery: Rochester
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Willard E. Wilder, age 26, from Rochester, New York, Monroe county.
Spouse: Orpha K. Wilder
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, October 2, 1943
Death details: Killed in a bomber crash while on a routine mission near Penn Yan, New York
Source: National Archives, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (1943)
Jack Franklyn Reynolds, age 22, from Monroe County Rochester, New York .
Parents: Arnold Lewis Reynolds
Service era: World War II
Schools: Graduate of Durand Eastman School and Benjamin Franklin High
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.
Source: National Archives, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (1942)