Andrew T. Lobosco, age 29, from Somerville, New Jersey, Somerset county. Their last known residence was in Somerville.
Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Date of death: Saturday, August 22, 2009
Death details: Died of wounds suffered when enemy attacked his unit in Yakhchal, Afghanistan.
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Steven Plumhoff, age 33, from Neshanic Station, New Jersey, Somerset county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: 58Th Operations Group, Kirtland Afb, Nm
Date of death: Sunday, November 23, 2003
Death details: Hostile; , Afghanistan
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Thomas D. Stowe, age 20, from Somerset County Somerville, New Jersey .
Spouse: Donna Stowe (married (181)
Children: Samantha Lee, born in June. He never saw his daughter
Service era: Beirut bombings
Schools: Somerville High
Date of death: Sunday, October 23, 1983
Death details: Among more than 200 military personnel killed in the terroist bombing of Marine headquarters in Beirut.
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Central New Jersey Home News (1983)
Henry Paul Brauner from Franklin Park, New Jersey.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: March 29, 1972
Death details: On July 24, 2009, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Paul Brauner, missing from the Vietnam War.
Lieutenant Colonel Brauner entered the U.S. Air Force from New Jersey and was a member of the 16th Special Operations Squadron. On March 29, 1972, he was the navigator aboard an AC-130A (tail number 55-0044, nicknamed “Prometheus”) when it took off from Ubon Airfield, Thailand, on a night reconnaissance mission to targets east of Savannakhet in southern Laos. The gunship was shot down by enemy surface-to-air missiles, killing Lt Col Brauner and the other crew members. Search and rescue efforts were curtailed due to heavy enemy activity, and no crew member remains including those of Lt Col Brauner were recovered at that time. Between 1986 and 2006, joint U.S./Laotian teams excavated the gunship’s crash site in Savannakhet Province and recovered human remains and artifacts. DPAA analysts used modern forensic techniques to eventually identify Lt Col Brauner’s remains from among those recovered.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Thomas William Frech, age 22, from Somerville, New Jersey, Somerset county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, December 1, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile death in South Vietnam
Source: National Arcives
Myron Diduryk, age 31, from Somerville, New Jersey, Somerset county.
Spouse: Delores Diduryk
Children: Kimberly and Keith
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, April 24, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Cemetery: National Archives, Columbus Ledger Enquirer (1970)
Robert Francis Scherdin, age 21, from Somerville, New Jersey.
Schools: Somerville High (1965)
Date of death: Sunday, December 29, 1968
Death details: Private First Class (PFC) Robert Francis Scherdin entered the U.S. Army from New Jersey and served with Command & Control North, 5th Special Forces Group. On December 29, 1968, he was the assistant team leader of a reconnaissance patrol in Cambodia when his group, the patrol’s rear element, came under heavy enemy fire. The lead element was extracted a short time later, followed by all the men in the rear element; however, after extraction, PFC Scherdin was discovered to be missing. He was not seen again and his remains were never recovered. Subsequent to the incident, and while carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the U.S. Army promoted PFC Sherdin to the rank of Staff Sergeant (SSG). Later, the U.S. Army posthumously promoted Staff Sergeant Sherdin to the rank of Sergeant First Class (SFC). Today, Sergeant First Class Scherdin is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, New Jersey Vietnam Vetarans, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
John Francis Dudash, age 37, from Manville, New Jersey; Somerset County
Date of death: April 27, 1967
Death details: On June 27, 1983, the Central Identification Lab-Hawaii (CILHI, now DPAA) identified the remains of Colonel John Francis Dudash, missing from the Vietnam War.
Colonel Dudash, who joined the U.S. Air Force from New Jersey, served with the 333rd Tactical Fighter Squadron. On April 27, 1967, he piloted an F-105D Thunderchief on a mission over North Vietnam. During the mission, the Thunderchief was shot down and Col Dudash was killed. Hostile presence in the area prevented recovery efforts following the crash. In 1983, the Vietnamese government repatriated human remains to the U.S. which were later identified as those of Col Dudash.
Cemetery: Arlington National
Sources: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com
Joseph John Jr. Polonko, age 26, from Somerset County Bridgewater, New Jersey .
Parents: Joseph J. Polonko Sr.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, April 29, 1966
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam; killed when the Jeep he was riding hit a land mine.
Source: National Archives, Central New Jersey Home News (1966)
William James Stephenson, age 24, from Somerset County Bound Brook, New Jersey .
Spouse: Carol (Apone)
Children: Son
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Sayreville High, Pennsylvania Military College graduate
Date of death: Wednesday, February 23, 1966
Death details: Hostile, died of wounds in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Central New Jersey Home News (1966)