Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Christopher Perry Sweet, age 28, from Kahului, Hawaii, Maui county. His last known residence was in Springfield, Illinois..
Service era: Iraq
Parents: Christina and Peter
School: Maui High graduate
Military history: Hhc, 3D Battalion, 66Th Armor, Grafenwoehr, Germany
Date of death: Friday, February 6, 2009
Death details: Fob Caldwell, Iraq
Cemetery: Camp Butler National
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times, Vancil-Murphy Funeral Home
Duane Edward Longstreth, age 19, from Springfield, Illinois, Sangamon county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company B 307Th Engineer Battalion, Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Date of death: Thursday, August 7, 2003
Death details: Dogwood, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Harrison Charles Jr. Allen, age 42, from Springfield, Illinois, Sangamon county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, February 7, 1991
Death details: Hostile, died from wounds in South Vietnam.
Cemetery: Mechanicsburg, Illinois; Name was added to the Wall in 1997
Source: National Archives, Chicago Tribune (1997)
William S. Sommerhof, age 25, from Sangamon County Springfield, Illinois .
Service era: Beirut bombings
Schools: Springfield High (1976)
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.
Cemetery: Camp Butler National
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Chicago Tribune (1983)
John Lee Ervin, age 20, from Springfield, Illinois, Sangamon county.
Parents: John C. Ervin
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, August 31, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Rock Island Argus (1970)
Robert Norman Bollman, age 22, from Springfield, Illinois, Sangamon county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, August 18, 1970
Death details: Hostile, died from wounds in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Lawrence Anthony Bierbaum, age 24, from Springfield, Illinois, Sangamon county.
Spouse: Mary L. Bierbaum
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, May 29, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Mount Vernon Register News (1970)
Lawrence Louis Jr. Hensey, age 20, from Springfield, Illinois, Sangamon county.
Parents: Lawrence L. Hensey Sr.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, April 19, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Effingham Daily News (1970)
Michael Davis O’Donnell, age 24, from Springfield, Illinois, Sangamon county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: March 24, 1970
Death details: On February 15, 2001, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Major Michael Davis O’Donnell, missing from the Vietnam War.
Major O’Donnell joined the U.S. Army from Illinois and was a member of the 170th Aviation Company. On March 24, 1970, he was the aircraft commander aboard a UH-1H Iroquois on a mission to extract a long-range reconnaissance patrol in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia. The aircraft picked up the recon team and was beginning its ascent when it suffered an explosion that caused it to crash. Major O’Donnell was killed in the incident. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented ground investigations of the UH-1H’s crash site at the time. In April 1995, a U.S. search team recovered remains associated with the loss of MAJ O’Donnell’s helicopter. In 2001, advances in forensic techniques allowed for some of the recovered remains to be identified as those of MAJ O’Donnell.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Paul Herbert Knecht, age 21, from Springfield, Illinois, Sangamon county.
Parents: Paul F. Knecht
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, February 11, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)