Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
James Williard Fenton, age 23, from Arizona, Yavapai county.
Parents: Forrest B. Fenton
Spouse: Brenda
Children: Tina Sue, James Jr., Tonda Lee, Jeff
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, August 29, 1970
Death details: Died of wounds received in action 16 days earlier in Vietnam
Cemetery: Fort Whipple
Source: National Archives, Arizona Republic (1970)
Donald Alan Brown, age 31, from Arizona, Maricopa county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, July 30, 1970
Death details: On July 30, 1970, an RF-4C Phantom II (tail number 66-0436) took off from Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, on a night reconnaissance mission over southern Laos. After takeoff, the Phantom II reported in with the on-site Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center (ABCCC) controlling all air operations in the region. After providing the Phantom II with mission information, the ABCCC handed the flight over to the Forward Air Controller (FAC) to direct the rest of the mission. Shortly thereafter the FAC cleared the Phantom II to begin photographing the target area, which was mostly uncharted and included terrain that was rugged and covered in jungle. Radio contact with the aircraft was lost when it was roughly 25 miles north of Muang Fangdeng, Attopeu, Laos. No further transmissions were received from the crew. Search and rescue efforts were conducted from July 30 to August 1, but were unsuccessful and were suspended August 2. No trace of the aircraft or its crew were found.
Captain Donald Alan Brown entered the U.S. Air Force and was a member of the 14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. He was the pilot of this Phantom II when it was lost on July 30, 1970, and he went missing with the aircraft. While carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the U.S. Air Force promoted Capt Brown to the rank of Major (Maj). Today, Major Brown is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Michael R. Blanchette, age 19, from Arizona, Maricopa county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, July 27, 1970
Source: National Archives
William Anthony Pahissa, age 23, from Tucson, Arizona, Pima county.
Parents: William B. Pahissa
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Salpointe High (1985, West Point (1969)
Military history: 101st Airborne Division at Fire Base O’Reilly
Date of death: Wednesday, July 22, 1970
Death details: Killed while leading a patrol in the jungle near the base in Vietnam.
Source: National Archives, Arizona Republic (1970)
William Charles Dunlap, age 23, from Arizona, Pima county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, December 2, 1969
Death details: On February 22, 1990, the Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii (CILHI, now DPAA) identified the remains of Chief Warrant Officer William Charles Dunlap, missing from the Vietnam War. CWO Dunlap joined the U.S. Army from Arkansas and was a member of the 129th Aviation Company. On December 2, 1969, he was the copilot aboard a UH-1B Iroquois on a fire support mission for a long-range reconnaissance patrol in Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam. The aircraft crashed during the mission, and CWO Dunlap was killed in the incident. His remains could not be immediately recovered. In January 1989, the Vietnamese government repatriated a set of remains that U.S. analysts identified as those of CWO Dunlap. Chief Warrant Officer Dunlap is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Francis Eugene Cannon, age 24, from Arizona, Maricopa county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, September 8, 1968
Death details: On November 4, 1985, the Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii (CIL-HI, now DPAA) identified the remains of Corporal Francis Eugene Cannon, missing from the Vietnam War. Corporal Cannon entered the U.S. Army from Arizona and served with Company D, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 196th Light Infantry Brigade. On January 8, 1968, his unit was ambushed by Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces in Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam. He was captured during the engagement but died of dysentery and malnutrition on September 8, 1968, while held at the prisoner of war camp “Bravo.” In 1985, the Vietnamese government repatriated the remains of American POWs buried at camp “Bravo,” and U.S. investigators were able to identify CPL Cannon from these remains.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Ronald Alan Bois Claire from Arizona, Pima county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, August 25, 1967
Death details: On August 25, 1967, an RA-3B Skywarrior (bureau number 144835, call sign “Quizshow 09”) with three crew members carried out a night reconnaissance mission over the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam. As the aircraft approached the coastline, radar contact was lost, and could not be reestablished. A search for “Quizshow 09” discovered no sign of it or its crew. All three members of the crew remain unaccounted for.
Aviation Machinist’s Mate (Jet Engine Mechanic) Second Class Ronald Alan Bois Claire, who joined the U.S. Navy from Arizona, was a member of Heavy Photographic Squadron 62. He was a crew member aboard “Quizshow 09” when it went missing, and he was lost with the aircraft. He remains unaccounted for. Today, Aviation Machinist’s Mate Second Class Bois Claire is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.
Source: National Archives
Leonard Douglas Davis from Arizona, Cochise county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, August 2, 1966
Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association
Gordon Francis Enos, age 24, from Maricopa County Salt River Indian Reservation, Arizona .
Parents: Harvey Enos Sr.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Friday, May 4, 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. Sergeant Gordon Francis Enos joined the U.S. Army from Arizona and was a member of L Company, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. On November 30, 1950, he was captured by enemy forces outside of Kunu-ri, as his unit made its fighting withdrawal toward Sunchon. Sergeant Enos was marched to Camp 5, a prisoner of war camp in Pyoktong, North Korea, where he died of malnutrition in May 1951. He was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Sergeant Enos 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, Arizona Republic (1954)
Richard Caballero Encinas, age 22, from Cochise County Arizona.
Parents: Nellie R. Cabellero
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, February 15, 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. Sergeant Richard Caballero Encinas, who joined the U.S. Army from Arizona, served with A Company, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces on an unknown date during the 2nd Engineer’s withdrawal to Sunchon. Surviving prisoners who were interned with him reported SGT Encinas died of dysentery and malnutrition at Camp 5, Pyoktong, North Korea, on February 15, 1951. His remains have not been recovered, and he was not identified among the remains returned to the U.S. following the war. Today, Sergeant Encinas is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, The Californian (1954)