David Lyn Christopherson, age 20, from Saint Cloud, Minnesota, Stearns county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, May 16, 1970
Death details: Hostile, South Vietnam
Cemetery: North Star in Saint Cloud
Source: National Archives, findagrave.com
William IV Lorimer, age 27, from Saint Cloud, Minnesota, Stearns county.
Spouse: Patricia A. Lorimer
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, March 10, 1970
Death details: Hostile, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
David Frank Weber, age 19, from Stearns County Cold Spring, Minnesota .
Parents: Victor J. Weber
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Saint Boniface High (1964)
Date of death: Saturday, January 15, 1966
Death details: Hostile, South Vietnam
Cemetery: Saint Boniface Catholic Church
Source: National Archives, Saint Cloud Times (1966), Associated Press (1966)
Albert Vincent Wiswell, age 21, from Stearns County Freeport, Minnesota .
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Sunday, September 3, 1950
Death details: On August 31, 1950, the North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) engaged in a large-scale offensive against the U.S. defensive line in South Korea. The defensive position, known as the Pusan Perimeter, was intended to prevent NKPA forces from reaching the harbor in Pusan, South Korea, where American reinforcements would arrive. The late-August offensive allowed the NKPA to penetrate deep into allied territory. On September 3, members of the 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, organized near Yongsan, South Korea and counterattacked the NKPA forces. By September 5, with the help of air and artillery support, the U.S. counteroffensive succeeded in pushing the enemy back across the Naktong River. Private Albert Vincent Wiswell, who joined the U.S. Army from Minnesota, was a member of H Company of the 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was among soldiers who took part in the U.S. counterattack near Yongsan, and he was killed in action against North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) forces on September 3. The tactical situation prevented the recovery of Private Wiswell’s body, and searches of the Yongsan area following the end of hostilities were unsuccessful in locating his remains. Today, Private Wiswell 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, Star Tribune (1951)
LeRoy Leo Germann from Stearns County Saint Cloud, Minnesota .
Parents: Albert M. Germann
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Wednesday, June 14, 1944
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Golet when it was destroyed by Japanese forces.
Source: National Archives, oneternalpatrol.com, Saint Cloud Times (144)
Richard E. Hedlund from Minnesota, Stearns county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, July 18, 1942
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor, with food and water extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves, often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Corporal Richard E. Hedlund entered the U.S. Army from Minnesota and served with Company L, 31st Infantry Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of malaria on July 18, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Corporal Hedlund is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Paul Joseph Jr. Jacobs, age 23, from Stearns County Saint Cloud, Minnesota .
Parents: Paul Jacobs Sr.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, March 1, 1942
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Houston when the ship was attacked traveling from Batavia to Java.
Source: National Arvhies, USSHouston.org, Saint Cloud Times (1943)
Sylvester Arthur Braun from Stearns County Melrose, Minnesota .
Parents: Peter F. Braun
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Unknown
Death details: In early February 1951, the United States, Republic of Korea (ROK), and United Nations forces moved out from Wonju, South Korea, and launched a large-scale counteroffensive against invading Chinese Communist Forces (CCF). Company L of the 3rd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, took part in the action, establishing a position on the west side of Wonju and advancing through the hilly terrain amid light resistance from the CCF. However, on February 11, the CCF launched its own major counteroffensive against the advancing U.S. forces. Company L held their ground initially, but soon the CCF’s superior numbers forced the unit to withdraw back through Wonju. Corporal Sylvester Arthur Braun, who joined the U.S. Army from Minnesota, was a member of L Company of the 3rd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured by the CCF during the fighting on February 11. Corporal Braun and other prisoners marched north to the Suan Bean holding camp in Suan, North Korea, arriving in March 1951. The corporal’s group was evacuated from Suan in April; however, he was among those too sick to travel and was moved to the nearby Suan Mining Camp’s field hospital where he was thought to have died of malnutrition late May 1951. His remains have not been recovered because U.S. personnel are unable to conduct searches at the Suan camps. Additionally, he could not be associated with any remains returned to U.S. custody since the ceasefire. Today, Corporal Braun 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)