David G. Plasch, age 23, from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Rockingham county.
Spouse: Married
Service era: Gulf War
Date of death: Wednesday, February 27, 1991
Death details: Killed when helicopter he was aboard was shot down.
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Gulf War Chronicles, David G. Plasch Aviation Scholarship Fund
Albert Linwood Jr. Page from Derry, New Hampshire, Rockingham county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, May 28, 1974
Death details: Hostile in North Vietnam
Source: National Archives
Bradley Elliott Sandford, age 47, from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Rockingham county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, December 27, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association, Sun Journal, Associated Press (1970)
Clyde Douglas Alloway, age 32, from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Rockingham county.
Spouse: Marjory C. Estes Alloway
Children: Jeffrey, 9; Lynn, 3
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, June 7, 1970
Death details: On June 6, 1970, an AC-119K Stinger (tail number 52-5935, call sign “Lemon 10”) with a crew of ten developed engine trouble shortly after take-off from Da Nang Air Base and crashed in the South China Sea in the vicinity of (GC) 48Q BT 167 840. Search and rescue (SAR) teams located and rescued nine of the crew but could not locate the tenth crew member. Staff Sergeant (SSgt) Clyde Douglas Alloway, who joined the U.S. Air Force from New Hampshire, served with the 18th Special Operations Squadron. He was the illuminator operator aboard the Stinger when it crashed. After the crash, he made radio contact with the Search and Rescue (SAR) team and stated that he was tangled in his parachute and unable to remain above the surface of the water. The SAR team was unable to locate him and he was not heard from again. Subsequent to the incident and while carried in the status of missing in action, the U.S. Air Force promoted SSgt Alloway to the rank of Technical Sergeant (TSgt). Today, TSgt Alloway 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, Portsmouth Herald (1970), Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Ralph Ronald Cummings, age 18, from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Rockingham county.
Parents: Ward of Mrs. Arthur W. Durant
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, March 18, 1970
Death details: Hostile in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Portland Press Herald (1970)
Michael Lewis Geister, age 20, from Rye, New Hampshire, Rockingham county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, March 16, 1970
Death details: Hostile in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives
Thomas Joseph Vezeau, age 18, from Derry, New Hampshire, Rockingham county.
Parents: Louis R. and Catherine (Duffy) Vezeau
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, February 25, 1970
Death details: Hostile in South Vietnam
Cemetery: Calvary in Waltham
Source: Library of Virginia in Richmond, Boston Glove (1970)
Robert S. Hedman from New Hampshire, Rockingham county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Tuesday, November 28, 1950
Death details: By November 24, 1950, the 25th Infantry Division had pushed far into North Korea and was just beginning to experience resistance from Chinese Communist Forces (CCF). Division commanders organized Task Force Dolvin (soon renamed Task Force Wilson) to attack along a road axis in the center of the Division sector and later to establish defensive positions north of the town of Ipsok. During the night of the 26th, the CCF attacked the Task Force and infiltrated its lines at several points, threatening but failing to seize the artillery. The Task Force began its withdrawal south the following day. Corporal Robert Shurben Hedman entered the U.S. Army from New Hampshire and served with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He went missing in action on November 28, during this attack on Task Force Wilson near Ipsok. He was not reported as a prisoner of war, and his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Corporal Hedman is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defence POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Francis Archambeault from New Hampshire, Rockingham county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, December 4, 1945
Death details: The Battle of the Hürtgen Forest, one of the bloodiest conflicts of World War II, was fought between Allied and German forces from September 1944 to February 1945. As U.S. forces advanced eastward into Germany, the defending Germans manned “Siegfried Line” positions opposite the Belgian border. The battle grew to involve approximately 200,000 troops, with tens of thousands of casualties on both sides. American forces initially entered the area seeking to block German reinforcements from moving north toward the fighting around Aachen, the westernmost city of Germany, near the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands. In the battle’s second phase and as part of the Allied’s larger offense toward the Rhine River, U.S. troops attempted to push through the forest to the banks of Roer River. Aided by bad weather and rough terrain, German forces in the Hürtgen Forest put up unexpectedly strong resistance due to a well-prepared defense. American forces were unable to break through to the Rur before the German Ardennes offensive struck in December 1944, known as the Battle of the Bulge, which halted the eastward Allied advance until February 1945. Private Francis Archambeault, who joined the U.S. Army from New Hampshire, served with Company B, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. On December 3, 1944, during the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, Company B was holding a defensive position near Gey, Germany, when German forces mounted a counterattack and overran the American units, including Private Archambeault’s platoon, and a chaotic retreat ensued. When Company B regrouped, Private Archambeault was missing, and attempts to locate him at the time were unsuccessful. After the war, American Graves Registration Service personnel could find no record of Private Archambeault’s burial or the location of his remains. Today, Private Archambeault is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten.
Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Charles J. Browne, age 29, from Rockingham County New Hampshire.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, January 9, 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 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. Major Charles James Browne, who joined the U.S. Army from Texas, served with the 31st Infantry Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured by enemy forces during the Japanese invasion of the islands and was interned in the Philippines until he was placed aboard the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate MAJ Browne was killed several weeks later in the attack on the Enoura Maru; however, these reports often involve information solely furnished by enemy governments, with some casualties given multiple dates of death. Future research may determine that these reports were inaccurate. MAJ Browne’s remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Major Browne is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Cemetery: Manila American Cemetery
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency