Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
David Allen Johnson, age 24, from West Lafayette, Indiana, Tippecanoe county.
Parents: L.G. Johnson
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Purdue University (1969)
Date of death: Saturday, January 31, 1970
Death details: Drowned in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Muncie Evening Press (1970)
Charles Allen Knochel, age 26, from Buck Creek, Tippecanoe County, Indiana
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, September 22, 1966
Parent: Fern Knochel
Spouse: Harriet Knochel
Child: Elizabeth Merritt, eight months
Death details: Lieutenant Charles Allen Knochel, who joined the U.S. Navy from Indiana, was a member of Attack Squadron 176 embarked aboard the USS Intrepid (CVS 11). On September 22, 1966, he piloted a single-seat A-1H Skyraider (bureau number 135239, call sign “Papoose 401”) on a two-plane armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. As the flight flew northeast toward the coast, the aircraft was hit by enemy ground fire. Lieutenant Knochel parachuted from the aircraft and landed in the water in the vicinity of (GC) 48Q XF 465 130. The pilot of the other aircraft on the mission did not see LT Knochel attempt to free himself from his parachute after hitting the water. By the time search and rescue aircraft arrived, LT Knochel had sunk beneath the surface, and could be located. His remains were not recovered. Today, Lieutenant Knochel 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, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Robert Lee Mann, age 32, from Lafayette, Indiana.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, October 22, 1965
Death details: On October 22, 1965, an RB-66 Destroyer (tail number 53-0452, call sign “Sabre 55”) with a crew of three took off on a night reconnaissance mission over Pleiku, South Vietnam. The aircraft failed to return from the mission for unknown reasons, and search teams were launched. The aircraft’s crash site was located near Sa Thay District, South Vietnam, but later investigations of the site found no evidence of the aircraft’s crew and all three remain unaccounted-for.
Captain Robert Lee Mann, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Indiana, was a member of the 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. He was the pilot of “Sabre 55” when it went down on October 22, 1965, and was lost with the aircraft. He was not seen or heard from again following the incident. Today, Captain Mann is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com
Paul Eugene Newton, age 20, from Romney, Indiana, Tippecanoe county.
Parents: Alice Ann Newton
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS West Virginia
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Journal Press (1941)