Scott Matthew Tyrrell, age 21, from Sterling, Illinois, Whiteside county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company C, 299Th Engineer Battalion, Fort Hood, Tx 76544
Date of death: Thursday, November 20, 2003
Death details: San Antonio, United States
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Jack Edward Searing, age 22, from Whiteside County Rock Falls, Illinois .
Spouse: Marcia R. Snearing
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, October 17, 1971
Death details: Non-hostile in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1971)
Stephen Charles Sellett, age 23, from Sterling, Illinois, Whiteside county.
Parents: Thomas Scllett
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, December 1, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1970)
Leonard Wayne Knox, age 21, from Sterling, Illinois, Whiteside county.
Children: Michelle
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Sterling High graduate
Date of death: Tuesday, September 29, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Cemetery: Oak Knoll
Source: National Archives, Quad City Times (1970)
Dennis Keith Eads, age 22, from Prophetstown, Illinois, Whiteside county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, April 23, 1970
Death details: On April 23, 1970, an AH-1G Cobra (tail number 67-15612) with two crew members took off as part of a four-aircraft emergency night mission to extract a long-range reconnaissance patrol in South Vietnam. While providing fire support for the patrol to allow them to break contact with the enemy, the Cobra crashed in the vicinity of (GC) ZC 180 270. Inclement weather in the area prevented an immediate search and rescue effort for the crew. A full investigation of the area was conducted the following morning; however, neither the downed aircraft nor its crew were located. Warrant Officer 1 (WO1) Dennis Keith Eads, who joined the U.S. Army from Illinois, was a member of Troop F, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 123rd Aviation Battalion, 16th Aviation Group, Americal Division. He was the pilot of the Cobra when it went down, and was lost with the aircraft. His remains were not recovered. Following the incident, the Army promoted WO1 Eads to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 3. Today, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eads 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, findagrave.com
Daniel Robert Troye, age 21, from Sterling, Illinois, Whiteside county.
Parents: Robert E. Troye
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, March 28, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Effingham Daily News (1970)
John Marshall Smith, age 21, from Albany, Illinois, Whiteside county.
Parents: Preceded in death by Harold Smith and Lila Smith Short
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Erie Community High graduate
Date of death: Wednesday, February 4, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile in South Vietnam; fatally shot
Source: National Archives, The Dispatch (1970)
John Gerald Krebs from Illinois, Whiteside county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Tuesday, July 11, 1950
Death details: On December 17, 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified Corporal John Gerald Krebs, missing from the Korean War. Corporal Krebs, who joined the U.S. Army from Illinois, was a member of L Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was killed in action against North Korean forces near Chochiwon, South Korea, on July 11, 1950. His remains were not recovered at the time of his loss, and he was not identified among those recovered and returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. In February 1951, American Graves Registration Service personnel recovered five sets of remains from a village northwest of Chonui, South Korea. Two sets of remains were identified as members of the 21st Infantry Regiment; however, the other three could not be identified and were buried as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2017, advances in forensic techniques prompted the reexamination of one set of these unknown remains. These remains were successfully identified as those of CPL Krebs. Corporal Krebs is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Anthony VonRycke, age 22, from Prophetstown, Illinois, Whiteside county.
Service era: World War II
Schools: Graduated in 1937 from high school in Prophetstown
Date of death: Friday, June 26, 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. Technician Fourth Grade Anthony Von Rycke entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Illinois and served with Headquarters Squadron, 20th Air Base Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of dysentery and malaria on June 26, 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, Technician Fourth Grade Von Rycke is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Robert William Apple, age 26, from Sterling, Illinois, Whiteside county.
Parents: Rose Marie Apple and preceded in death by Frank Apple
Service era: World War II
Schools: Saint Mary, Mooseheart graduate
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.
Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW MIA Accounting Agency, Berwyn Life (1966)