Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Christopher Gathercole, age 21, from Santa Rosa, California, Sonoma county.
Parents: Edward Gathercole and Catherine Haines
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company D, 2D Battalion, 75Th Rangers, Fort Lewis, Wa
Date of death: Monday, May 26, 2008
Death details: Hostile; Ghazni, Afghanistan
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Jesse Lawrence Williams, age 25, from Santa Rosa, California, Sonoma county.
Spouse: Sonya Williams
Children: Amaya, 1
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company B, 5Th Battalion, 20Th Infantry, Fort Lewis, Wa
Date of death: Sunday, April 8, 2007
Death details: Hostile; Balad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, family, Los Angeles Times
Caesar Samuel Viglienzone, age 21, from Santa Rosa, California, Sonoma county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Co D, 1St Bn, 502D Inf, 2 Bct, 4 Id, (Tf Baghdad), Fort Campbell, Ky
Date of death: Wednesday, February 1, 2006
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Joshua Jacob Kynoch, age 23, from Santa Rosa, California, Sonoma county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company B, 2D Battalion, 7Th Infantry (Tf Liberty), Fort Stewart, Ga
Date of death: Saturday, October 1, 2005
Death details: Hostile; Bayji, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Patrick Terence Oday, age 20, from Santa Rosa, California, Sonoma county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: 1St Tank Bn, 1St Mardiv, Mcagcc Twentynine Palms, Ca
Date of death: Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Death details: Killed in a traffic accident during convoy operations in the vicinity of the Euphrates River.
Source: Department of Defense, U.S. Navy, Military Times
Robert Schulze, age 20, from Santa Rosa, California, Sonoma county.
Parents: Robert J. Schulze
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Santa Rosa High, Santa Rosa Junior College
Date of death: Tuesday, July 27, 1971
Death details: Died from gunshot wounds in Vietnam.
Cemetery: Calvary
Source: National Archives, Santa Rosa Press Democrat (1971)
Barry Martin Searby, age 21, from Santa Rosa, California, Sonoma county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, March 16, 1970
Death details: Killed in Vietnam when a Navy EC121 spy plane with 31 crew aboard crashed into a hanger and started on fire.
Source: National Archives, UPI (1970), Associated Press (1970)
Alvin Earl Jr. Crane from Santa Rosa, California, Sonoma county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, September 13, 1951
Death details: On August 22, 2005, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of First Lieutenant Alvin Earl Crane Jr., missing from the Korean War. First Lieutenant Crane joined the U.S. Air Force from California and was a member of the 6148th Tactical Control Squadron. On September 13, 1951, he took off from Pyongtaek Air Base, South Korea, piloting a T-6F Mosquito (serial number unavailable) along with one other crew member on a mission to direct air strikes against enemy ground targets northeast of Kaesong, North Korea. After successfully directing four U.S. fighters to enemy targets, 1st Lt Crane’s T-6F was shot down by enemy fire. One parachute was seen to emerge from the aircraft before it crashed in Hwanghae Province, North Korea. Enemy activity in the area prevented immediate search-and-rescue attempts. U.N. forces were eventually able to locate the crash site, where they recovered remains which were identified as the observer who served on board this Mosquito. No sign of 1st Lt Crane or his remains could be found at the site. No further information regarding the loss of 1st Lt Crane was ever received. In May 1990, the North Korean government repatriated to the United States human remains that were allegedly associated with a U.S. serviceman killed in Hwanghae Province. Forensic analysis eventually allowed these returned remains to be identified as those of 1st Lt Crane. First Lieutenant Crane is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Gerald Frank Bumstead, age 21, from Sonoma County Santa Rosa, California .
Parents: Mauddie Bumstead
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Wednesday, January 3, 1951
Death details: By mid-November 1950, U.S. and Allied forces had advanced to within approximately sixty miles of the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China. On November 25, approximately 300,000 Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) “volunteers” suddenly and fiercely counterattacked after crossing the Yalu. The 2nd Infantry Division, located the farthest north of units at the Chongchon River, could not halt the CCF advance and was ordered to withdraw to defensive positions at Sunchon in the South Pyongan province of North Korea. As the division pulled back from Kunu-ri toward Sunchon, it conducted an intense rearguard action while fighting to break through well-defended roadblocks set up by CCF infiltrators. The withdrawal was not complete until December 1, and the 2nd Infantry Division suffered extremely heavy casualties in the process. Corporal Gerald Frank Bumstead, who joined the U.S. Army from California, was a member of the Service Battery, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces as his unit, making a fighting withdrawal south to Sunchon, was cut off and overrun by Chinese Communist soldiers. Prisoners returned to U.S. control after the war reported that he died from pneumonia on January 3, 1951 at Pukchin-Tarigol. His remains have not been identified among those returned to U.S. custody. Today, Corporal Bumstead is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Associated Press (1954)
John Joe Rattaro from Santa Rosa., California, Sonoma county.
Spouse: Mrs. Patricia Mary Rattaro
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