Salem Oregon

Buyes, Adam J.
Marines Corporal

Adam J. Buyes, age 21, from Salem, Oregon.

Parents: Mike Buyes

Service era: Afghanistan
Schools: McKay High (2008)
Military history: 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.

Date of death: Saturday, November 26, 2011
Death details: Died while conducting combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Cemetery: Restlawn Memory Ggardens in West Salem

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

Jones, Derek William
Marines Lance corporal

Derek William Jones, age 21, from Salem, Oregon, Marion county.

Service era: Iraq
Military history: F Co, 2D Bn, 3D Mar, (Rct-7, I Mef Fwd), 3D Mar Div, Mcbh Kaneohe Bay, Hi

Date of death: Sunday, October 8, 2006
Death details: Hostile; Al Asad, Iraq

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times

Strawn, John Thomas
Army Specialist 6

John Thomas Strawn, age 28, from Salem, Oregon, Marion county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, March 4, 1971
Death details: On March 4, 1971, a JU-21 LEFT JAB (tail number 18065, call sign “Vanguard 216”) with a crew of five departed Phu Bai Air Base, South Vietnam, on a signal intelligence collection mission over Quang Tri Province. The aircraft’s last radio communication was from a location near the Demilitarized Zone where an enemy artillery regiment was believed to be located and where witnesses saw an aerial explosion. Search and rescue efforts were carried out for two days, but were unsuccessful. Specialist 6 John Thomas Strawn, who joined the U.S. Army from Oregon, served with the 138th Aviation Company, 224th Aviation Battalion, 509th Radio Research Group. He was a crew member aboard the LEFT JAB when it disappeared, and his remains were not recovered. Today, Specialist 6 Strawn is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Cemetery: Memorialized at Willamette National

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com

Woods, Gerald Ernest
Army Warrant officer 1st class

Gerald Ernest Woods, age 21, from Salem, Oregon, Marion county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, February 18, 1971
Death details: On February 18, 1971, a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 68-15255) with four crew members took off as one of four helicopters on an emergency extraction mission for soldiers from a Special Forces camp located on the west side of A Shau Valley in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. Enemy troops fired on the Iroquois as it attempted to rescue the ground troops using a stable extraction rig, forcing the pilot to leave the area with three men still attached to the rigs. One of the troops on the extraction rigs fell off into the jungle and was eventually rescued. A short time after he fell, the helicopter was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, which caused it to crash and burn with the four crew members and two rescued ground troops still inside. Warrant Officer 1 Gerald Ernest Woods entered the U.S. Army from Oregon and was a member of Company A, 101st Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. He was the pilot of this Iroquois when it crashed, and was lost with the aircraft. Attempts to locate or identify his remains have been unsuccessful. Today, Warrant Officer 1 Woods is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com

Woodroffe, Terry Scott
Army Corporal

Terry Scott Woodroffe, age 19, from Salem, Oregon, Marion county.

Parents: James B. Woodroffe

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Saturday, June 6, 1970
Death details: Died in Vietnam in an accident involving the military vehicle on which he was a gunner.
Cemetery: Belcrest Memorial Park

Source: National Archives, Salem Statesman Journal (1970)

Nopp, Robert Graham
Army Lieutenant colonel

Robert Graham Nopp from Salem, Oregon, Marion county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, July 13, 1966
Death details: Army Lt. Col. Robert G. Nopp, 31, of Salem, Oregon, accounted for on Feb. 1, 2018, will be buried October 18 in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C. On July 13, 1966 Nopp was assigned to the 131st Aviation Company, serving as a pilot aboard an OV-1C aircraft, on a night surveillance mission from Phu Bai Airfield over Attapu Province, Laos People’s Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.). Visibility was poor due to heavy thunderstorms. Radar and radio contact were lost with the aircraft, which was not uncommon due to the mountainous terrain in that part of Laos. When the aircraft did not return as scheduled, search efforts were initiated, but no crash site was found. Also lost in the crash was Army Staff Sgt. Marshall F. Kipina, 21, of Calumet, Michigan, the aircraft’s observer.
During the 1990s and 2000s, joint U.S./L.P.D.R. teams investigated the incident and recommended a potential crash site in Attapu Province, L.P.D.R. for excavation. The site, located in extremely difficult terrain, required multiple missions to excavate. The teams recovered osseous material, personal equipment and material evidence. Analysis of the aircraft indicated the crash was of the same aircraft Nopp was flying, and an ejection seat component indicated at least one person was in the aircraft when it crashed. Kipina was identified corrently with Nopp.
To identify Nopp’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), as well as anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Russell, David Gordon
Marines Lance corporal

David Gordon Russell, age 19, from Marion County Salem, Oregon .

Parents: Leon and Christine Dalby Russell

Service era: Vietnam
Schools: North Salem High graduate

Date of death: Saturday, April 2, 1966
Death details: Body recovered
Cemetery: Willmatte National

Source: National Archives, Belvidere Daily Republican (1966)

Morgan, David Allen
Army Staff sergeant

David Allen Morgan, age 18, from Marion County Salem, Oregon .

Parents: James Morgan

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, September 23, 1965
Death details: Body recovered

Source: National Archives, Statesman Journal (1965)

Barker, Elvis Gordon
Army Captain

Elvis Gordon Barker, age 25, from Marion County Salem, Oregon .

Spouse: Virginia
Children: Kevin, 1

Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Oregon State University

Date of death: Monday, March 1, 1965
Death details: Killed by a hand grenade.

Source: National Archives, Statesman Journal (1965)

Laflemme, Delbert
Army Specialist 4

Delbert Laflemme, age 21, from Marion County Salem, Oregon .

Parents: Willard A. LaFlemme

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, October 7, 1964
Death details: Killed when a helicopter was shot down in Vietnam.

Source: National Archives, UPI (1964)

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