Henry Dean Lankford, age 18, from Union County Union, South Carolina .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, March 5, 1966
Death details: Killed in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1966)
Belton Jr. Lyles, age 19, from Union County Carlisle, South Carolina .
Parents: Belton Lyles
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, October 28, 1965
Death details: Killed in action in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1965)
Aubrey Dean Vaughn, age 20, from Union, South Carolina, Union county.
Parents: James A Vaughn
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Monday, April 23, 1951
Death details: On February 24, 2016, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private First Class Aubrey Dean Vaughn, missing from the Korean War. PFC Vaughn joined the U.S. Army from South Carolina and was a member of C Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Regimental Combat Team. On April 23, 1951, his company’s position was overrun by Chinese Communist Forces near Undamjang, North Korea. PFC Vaughn was captured during the fighting, and later died in captivity at a prisoner of war camp in Changsong, North Korea, in July 1951. His remains were returned to U.S. custody in 1954 following the ceasefire; however, they could not be identified at the time, and were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific as unknowns. In 2016, advances in forensic techniques prompted the re-evaluation and subsequent identification of PFC Vaughn’s remains. Private First Class Vaughn is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Greenwood Index Journal (1951)
Ralph S. Boughman, age 21, from South Carolina, Union county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Saturday, December 2, 1950
Death details: In late 1950, Boughman was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.
On July 27, 2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.
To identify Boughman’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency