Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Patrick William Rabacal, age 20, from Honolulu County Alea, Hawaii .
Parents: William H. Rabacal
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Campbell High graduate
Date of death: Sunday, January 16, 1972
Death details: He was shot while on a mission as a door gunner on an Army aircraft.
Cemetery: Punchbowl
Source: National Archives, Honolulu Star Bulletin (1972)
Charles Manuwahl Kalani, age 20, from Maui County Paia, Hawaii .
Parents: Charles Kalani
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Baldwin High (1969)
Date of death: Saturday, January 1, 1972
Death details: Died in Vietnam from wounds suffered December 27, 1971 while aboard an aircraft that received ground fire.
Source: National Archives, Honolulu Star Bulletin (1972)
Leonard Gideon Maquiling, age 23, from Honolulu County Honolulu, Hawaii .
Parents: Pedro E. Maquiling and Mary A. Maquiling
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, October 26, 1971
Death details: Died over the South China Sea while on a helicopter supply mission.
Cemetery: Punchbowl
Source: National Archives, Honolulu Star Bulletin (1971)
Elliot Matsuoh Yoshida, age 27, from Honolulu County Wahiawa, Hawaii .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, October 25, 1971
Death details: Elliot died in Vietnam following surgery for a brain tumor.
Source: National Archives, Honolulu Str Bulletin (1971)
Joel Kahalealoha Kamalolo, age 27, from Haleiwa, Hawaii, Honolulu county.
Service era: Vietnam
Military history: Battery A, 5th Battalion, 42nd Artillery of the 23rd Artillery Group
Date of death: Wednesday, August 25, 1971
Death details: He was driving a military vehicle when he encountered hostile forces when he was killed.
Source: National Archives, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Honolulu Advertiser (1971)
Franklin Randolph Akana, age 21, from Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu county.
Parents: Ann Akana
Spouse: Doris E
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, November 20, 1970
Death details: Killed when the air pressure created by the tail rotor of a helicopter detonated a booby trap.
Source: National Archives, Honolulu Star Bulletin
Robert Charles Riveira, age 19, from Hile, Hawaii, Honolulu county.
Parents: Benjamin Riveira
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, September 23, 1970
Death details: Killed by American mortar fire that fell short of its target
Cemetery: Punchbowl
Source: National Archives, Honoluu Star Bulletin (1970)
Masaru Kumashiro, age 23, from Oahu, Hawaii.
Service era: Korea
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment
Date of death: Saturday, September 8, 1951
Death details:
On September 7, 1951, members of the 3rd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, were positioned on Hill 682 and Hill 717, located south of Pyonggang, North Korea, in the “No Man’s Land” between the front lines of U.S. forces and the opposing Communist Chinese and North Koreans. After coming under heavy fire from Chinese and North Korean artillery, the 3rd Battalion was forced to fall back to Hill 717 to their west. Enemy action then pushed the 3rd Battalion to Hill 432, where the supporting batteries of the 64th Field Artillery were stationed. They were attacked again that night, but repulsed the enemy. On the morning of September 8, the 3rd Battalion launched a patrol to Hill 717 to search for the dead and missing, but enemy presence there stymied search efforts. During the patrol’s return to Hill 432, they encountered a small enemy force, and a firefight ensued until the enemy was dispersed. That night, Hill 432 came under yet another attack. Although the defensive perimeter was penetrated in several places, the enemy was ultimately repelled, and the perimeter re-established. After this fighting, the 3rd Battalion was relieved by the 2nd Battalion.
Corporal Masaru Kumashiro, who joined the U.S. Army from Hawaii, was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on September 8, 1951, during combat at Hill 432. No one reported seeing CPL Kumashiro fall in battle, and his name did not appear on any prisoner of war reports. He has not been associated with any remains returned to U.S. custody after the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Corporal Kumashiro is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency