Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
William A. Rose, age 20, from Stockton, California, San Joaquin county.
Spouse: Married
Children: Son
Service era: Operation Restore Hope (Somalia)
Date of death: Sunday, March 7, 1993
Death details: Died from a self-inclicted gunshot wound. Died at Mogadishu’s soccer stadium.
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press
John Dewitt Drake, age 19, from Stockton, California, San Joaquin county.
Parents: John H. Drake
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, October 20, 1970
Death details: Killed in action
Source: National Archives, Modesto Bee (1970)
Darryl Kenneth Scott, age 22, from Stockton, California, San Joaquin county.
Parents: Amy L. Butler
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, October 19, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile
Source: National Archives, Modesto Bee (1970)
Brian John Bennett, age 21, from Stockton, California, San Joaquin county.
Parents: Clarence Bennett
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Stagg High graduate
Date of death: Saturday, August 15, 1970
Death details: Killed in an ambush
Source: National Archives, Sacramento Bee (1970)
David Ervin Zimmerman, age 22, from Stockton, California, San Joaquin county.
Parents: Ervin Zimmerman
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, July 28, 1970
Death details: Body recovered
Source: National Archives, UPI (1970)
John Roy Mariani, age 21, from Stockton, California, San Joaquin county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, May 16, 1970
Death details: Body recovered
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Charles Edward Kissee, age 21, from Stockton, California, San Joaquin county.
Parents: Paul Kissee
Spouse: Thelma J. Kissee
Children: Diane, 7 weeks
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Linden High (1958)
Date of death: Friday, March 16, 1962
Death details: Among 93 soldiers aboard a transport plane on a “secret mission” to Vietnam. Wreaths Across America in 2021: “Very little is known about what happened to the plane and its passengers, and due to the circumstance surrounding this mission, the names of those lost have not yet been added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.”
Cemetery: A memorial honoring the lives lost was dedicated in 2021 in Columbia Falls, Maine
Source: Atlanta Counstitution (1962), MauiNow (2021), UPI (1962), Stockton Evening and Sunday Record (1962)
Norman L. Brueckner, age 22, from Stockton, California, San Joaquin county.
Parents: and Paul Brueckner
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: From November 20 through 23, 1943, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy conducted a large-scale amphibious assault on the Japanese-held atoll of Tarawa as part of Operation Galvanic, the Allied capture of the Gilbert Islands. Located 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, Tarawa was a crucial stepping stone in the planned U.S. offensive across the central Pacific toward Japan. The Japanese garrison on Tarawa’s main island of Betio was well-entrenched with hundreds of bunkers and gun positions behind formidable beach obstacles. The first wave of Marines approaching the shore encountered lower-than-expected tides, forcing them to leave their landing craft on the reef and wade the hundreds of yards to the beach under intense enemy fire. The heaviest number of U.S. casualties were suffered during this phase of the landing. Eventually, rising tides allowed U.S. warships to maneuver closer to shore and support the troops with effective naval gunfire. More Marines landed on the second day, launching attacks inland from the beaches and seizing the Japanese airfield on the island. However, the enemy launched vicious counterattacks and two more days of intense fighting were needed to secure Betio. The last enemy strongpoints were taken on the morning of November 23. The fighting on Betio cost the Marines nearly 3,000 casualties but enabled U.S. forces to press further across the Pacific and yielded valuable tactical lessons that reduced U.S. losses in future amphibious landings. Corporal Norman L. Brueckner, who entered the U.S. Marine Corps from California, served in Company K, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action during the Battle of Tarawa on November 20, 1943. His remains were not recovered at the time and were not identified among those disinterred from Tarawa following the war. Today, Corporal Brueckner is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Cemetery: Honolulu Memorial
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Glenn Happe, age 27, from Stockton, California, San Joaquin county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, November 20, 1943
Death details: From November 20 through 23, 1943, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy conducted a large-scale amphibious assault on the Japanese-held atoll of Tarawa as part of Operation Galvanic, the Allied capture of the Gilbert Islands. Located 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, Tarawa was a crucial stepping stone in the planned U.S. offensive across the central Pacific toward Japan. The Japanese garrison on Tarawa’s main island of Betio was well-entrenched with hundreds of bunkers and gun positions behind formidable beach obstacles. The first wave of Marines approaching the shore encountered lower-than-expected tides, forcing them to leave their landing craft on the reef and wade the hundreds of yards to the beach under intense enemy fire. The heaviest number of U.S. casualties were suffered during this phase of the landing. Eventually, rising tides allowed U.S. warships to maneuver closer to shore and support the troops with effective naval gunfire. More Marines landed on the second day, launching attacks inland from the beaches and seizing the Japanese airfield on the island. However, the enemy launched vicious counterattacks and two more days of intense fighting were needed to secure Betio. The last enemy strongpoints were taken on the morning of November 23. The fighting on Betio cost the Marines nearly 3,000 casualties but enabled U.S. forces to press further across the Pacific and yielded valuable tactical lessons that reduced U.S. losses in future amphibious landings. Gunnery Sergeant Glenn Happe entered the U.S. Marine Corps from California and served with Company C, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division. He was killed in action during the Battle of Tarawa on November 20, 1943. Gunnery Sergeant Happe was buried on Betio Island, his remains could not be identified among those disinterred from the island after the war. Today, Gunnery Sergeant Happe is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Charles D. Fontanella, age 23, from Stockton, California, San Joaquin county.
Service era: World War I
Date of death: Friday, September 27, 1918
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: San Joaquin Catholic
Source: Soldiers of the Great War, findagrave.com