Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Jonathan Bennett Nolan, age 28, from Syracuse, New York, Onondago county.
Service era: Post cold war
Date of death: Wednesday, May 27, 1998
Death details: Killed in jet training exercises
Cemetery: Saint Mary’s in DeWitt, New York
Source: Associated Press (1998), findagrave.com
Danny Deredita, age 38, from Syracuse, New York
Service era: Gulf War
Date of death: Sunday, February 9, 1997
Death details: F/A-18D “”Hornet”” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (All Weather)-21, Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, crashed into the Yellow Sea 60 miles southwest of Korea.
Source: U.S. Navy, Associated Press
Keith Richard Davies, age 21, from Syracuse, New York, Onondaga county.
Parents: Gwilym R. Davies
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, August 30, 1970
Death details: Killed when accidentally shot by another Marine
Source: National Archives
Dennis Edward Heitner, age 24, from Syracuse, New York, Onondaga county.
Parents: Donald Heitner
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Syracuse University
Military history: 25th Infantry Division
Date of death: Saturday, June 13, 1970
Death details: Hostile, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Cincinnati Enquirer (1970)
Daniel Paul Richards, age 20, from Syracuse, New York, Onondaga county.
Parents: Barbara and John Richards
Spouse: Paula Farnham Richards
Children: Ronald Richards
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, April 12, 1970
Death details: Hostile, South Vietnam
Cemetery: Riverview
Source: National Archives, Syracuse Post Standard (1970)
Robert Joseph Wrobel, age 23, from Syracuse, New York, Onondaga county.
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: SacredHeart Academy, Onondaga Community College (1966), University of Georgia (1968)
Date of death: Thursday, April 2, 1970
Death details: Killed in South Vietnam while on a night defensive position when he stepped on a booby trap.
Cemetery: Sacred Heart
Source: National Archives, Post Standard (1970)
John Andrew Shaffer, age 22, from Syracuse, New York, Onondaga county.
Parents: John E. Shaffer
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Nottingham High, Syracuse University
Military history: 101st Airborne Division
Date of death: Wednesday, January 28, 1970
Death details: Hostile, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Post Standard (1970)
Francis Edward Visconti from Syracuse, New York, Onondaga county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: November 22, 1965
Death details: On November 22, 1965, a UH-34D Choctaw (bureau number 147180) carrying four crew members participated in a troop lift of Marines into Trach Tru, a South Vietnamese outpost south of Quang Ngai. On the return trip, heavy enemy fire and declining weather caused hazardous flying conditions. The helicopter flew over water along the shore to avoid enemy ground fire, and the flight was eventually diverted to Chu Lai. The Choctaw made routine radio contact when it was nearing Chu Lai, in the vicinity of (GC) 49P BT 720 060, but was not heard from again after that check-in. Intensive searches failed to find a crash site or any crew members.
First Lieutenant Francis Edward Visconti, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps from New York, served with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 362, Marine Air Group 36, 1st Marine Air Wing. He was the pilot of the Choctaw when it disappeared on November 22, 1965, and his remains have not been recovered. After the incident, the Marine Corps promoted 1stLt Visconti to the rank of Major (Maj). Today, Major Visconti is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Douglas A. Haaf from Syracuse, New York, Onondaga county.
Parents: Arnold Haaf
Service era: Vietnam
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)
Norman Floyd Mosher, age 20, from Syracuse, New York, Onondaga county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, March 26, 1953
Death details: In late March 1953, elements of the 1st Marine Division manned a string of outposts along a 33-mile section of the main line of resistance on the Korean Peninsula, near the present-day Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The 1st Marine Division’s 5th Marine Regiment was responsible for three of these outposts, named Carson, Reno, and Vegas, or collectively “the Nevada Cities Complex.” On March 26, Chinese Communist Forces attacked all three outposts. Although Carson managed to stave off the assault, Reno and Vegas, which were more lightly manned, eventually succumbed to the enemy. Over 1,000 Marines were killed, wounded, or went missing during the attack on the Nevada Cities Complex. Corporal Norman Floyd Mosher joined the U.S. Marine Corps from New York and was a member of H Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He went missing in action during the fighting at the Nevada Cities Complex on March 26, 1953. He was never reported to be a prisoner of war, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the conflict’s ceasefire. Today, Corporal Mosher is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency