Ryan Andrew Balmer, age 33, from Mishawaka, Indiana, St Joseph county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Det 113, 1St Field Investigations Region, Hill Afb, Utah
Spouse: Danielle Balmer
Children: Joshua, 11, Anthony, 7, Gabby, 11 months
Date of death: Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Death details: Hostile; Near Kirkuk Ab, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Desert News
Jeremy Boorda, age 56, from South Bend, Indiana, St. Joseph county.
Spouse: Mae Moran Boorda (1938-2020)
Children: Four children
Service era: Iraq
Schools: Quit high school, ran away from home and lied about his age to join the Navy
Date of death: Thursday, May 16, 1996
Death details: Jeremy was upset because someone claimed he was not authorized to wear two valor medals. He was authorized to wear them, but that accusation was too much. He took his own life.
Cemetery: Arlington National
Source: suicide.org, New York Times (1996), U.S. Navy, findagrave.com
James H. York, age 43, from South Bend, Indiana, Saint Joseph county.
Service era: Cold War
Date of death: Thursday, December 16, 1982
Death details: Among 9 crew members killed when their B-52 bomber crashed in a pasture near Mather Air Force Base, California.
Source: Charlotte News (1983), Lead Daily Call (1983), Lincoln Star (1982)
Robin Ray Yeakley, age 23, from South Bend, Indiana, St. Joseph county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, June 11, 1972
Death details: Army Capt. Arnold E. Holm Jr. of Waterford, Conn.; Spc. Robin R. Yeakley of South Bend, Ind.; and Pfc. Wayne Bibbs of Chicago, were buried as a group, in a single casket representing the entire crew, on Nov. 9, 2011 in Arlington National Cemetery. On June 11, 1972, Holm was the pilot of an OH-6A Cayuse helicopter flying a reconnaissance mission in Thua Thien-Hue Province, South Vietnam. Also on board were his observer, Yeakley, and his door gunner, Bibbs. The aircraft made a second pass over a ridge, where enemy bunkers had been sighted, exploded and crashed, exploding again upon impact. Crews of other U.S. aircraft, involved in the mission, reported receiving enemy ground fire as they overflew the crash site looking for survivors. On March 16, 2011, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Specialist 4 Robin Ray Yeakley, missing from the Vietnam War. Specialist 4 Yeakley joined the U.S. Army from Indiana and was a member of Troop F, 8th Cavalry Regiment. On June 11, 1972, he was the observer aboard an OH-6A Cayuse helicopter on a reconnaissance mission over Thua Thien-Hue Provence, Vietnam. Just after passing over a ridge in the target area, the OH-6A crashed and exploded, and SP4 Yeakley was killed. Enemy presence in the area prevented immediate recovery efforts for his remains. Between 1993 and 2008, joint U.S./Vietnamese search teams conducted investigations that located the OH-6A’s crash site. Human remains were recovered from the site and modern forensic techniques were able to identify SP4 Yeakley among the remains recovered.
Cemetery: Arlington National
Source: National Archives
Charles Forak III Creamer, age 24, from South Bend, Indiana, Saint Joseph county.
Parents: Charles F. Creamer Jr.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, November 28, 1970
Death details: Hostile in South Vietnam. Killed in a helicopter crash
Source: National Archives, South Bend Tribune (1970)
Wilfred Wesley Jr. Warner, age 21, from Mishawaka, Indiana, Saint Joseph county.
Parents: Wilfred W. Warner Sr.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, July 23, 1970
Death details: Hostile in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Indianapolis News (1970)
Ronald L. Hazen, age 18, from Mishawaka, Indiana, Saint Joseph county.
Parents: Louis Hazen Jr.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, April 29, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile in South Vietnam
Cemetery: Chapel Hills Memorial Gardens
Source: National Archives, South Bend Tribune (1970)
Joseph Steven Nemeth, age 20, from South Bend, Indiana, Saint Joseph county.
Parents: Joseph L. Nemeth
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, April 10, 1970
Death details: Hostile in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Tim Leroy Walters, age 26, from South Bend, Indiana, Saint Joseph county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, March 9, 1969
Death details: On December 1, 1999, Joint Task Force–Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Staff Sergeant Tim Leroy Walters, missing from the Vietnam War. Staff Sergeant Walters entered the U.S. Army from Indiana and was a member of Headquarters, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. On March 9, 1969, he was the observer aboard an O-2A Skymaster (tail number 67-21425, call sign “Nail 40”) on a combat support mission over Laos. While over Savannakhet Province, the aircraft was shot down by enemy fire, killing SSG Walters. A ground search team found the wreckage but the active enemy presence in the area prevented the recovery of SSG Walters’ body at the time. Investigators eventually returned to the crash site and recovered human remains there, and U.S. analysts identified SSG Walters from these remains.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com
Leo Neal Kryske, age 36, from Mishawaka, Indiana.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, August 25, 1968
Death details: Hostile, wounded in South Vietnam
Cemetery: Nashville National
Source: National Archives, grave marker