Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Joel Lee Murray, age 26, from Kansas City, Kansas, Wyandotte county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company C, 2D Battalion, 16Th Infantry, 4 Bct, Fort Riley, Ks
Date of death: Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, findagrave.com
Brian Lee Wells from Kansas, Wyandotte county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, May 13, 1975
Source: National Archives
John Lee Wilson, age 21, from Bonner Springs, Kansas, Wyandotte county.
Parents: Thomas V. Wilson
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, May 7, 1970
Death details: Non-hostile death in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, UPI (1970)
Troy Vernal Canady, age 19, from Kansas City , Kansas, Wyandotte county.
Parents: Elmina Boggess
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Sumner High, Kansas City graduate
Date of death: Monday, April 13, 1970
Death details: Killed in Vietnam during a motar attack
Cemetery: Fort Leavenworth National
Source: National Archives, Kansas City Times (1970), findagrave.com
Jackie Lee Lewallen, age 20, from Kansas, Wyandotte county.
Parents: Lorene Cason
Spouse: Sharon K. Lewallen
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, February 22, 1970
Death details: Died in Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Kansas City Star (1970)
John Quincy Adam, age 20, from Bethel, Kansas, Wyandotte county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, May 22, 1968
Death details: On March 13, 2009, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Chief Master Sergeant John Quincy Adam, missing from the Vietnam War. Chief Master Sergeant Adam joined the U.S. Air Force from Kansas and was a member of the 41st Tactical Airlift Squadron. On May 22, 1968, he was the flare handler aboard a C-130 Hercules with a crew of nine on a nighttime flare mission over northern Salavan Province, Laos. The Hercules crashed during its flight, killing all nine of the crew. Immediate search efforts could not be conducted due to heavy anti-aircraft fire in the area. Between 1989 and 2008, Laotian, Vietnamese, and American search teams conducted joint investigations in the Quang Tri Province of Vietnam, recovering aircraft wreckage and human remains for further analysis. In 2009, modern forensic techniques allowed for the identification of CMSgt Adam’s remains from among those recovered from Vietnam.
Cemetery: Arlington National
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com
Richard Ames Claflin, age 28, from Kansas City, Kansas, Wyandotte county.
Parents: O.Q. Claflin III and Louise
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, July 26, 1967
Death details: On July 26, 1967, an F-4C Phantom II (tail number 64-0848) with a crew of two took off from Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand as the number two aircraft in a flight of two on a nighttime armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. The F-4C reached the target area, released its ordnance, and was then seen to explode in mid-air by the flight leader. No parachutes were observed and no signals from rescue beepers were received. The flight leader circled the area and attempted to establish radio contact with the crew of the F-4C but was unsuccessful. The loss area was deep in enemy territory, so an immediate search for survivors could not be conducted. Later investigations of the crash site failed to recover the remains of the crew. Captain Richard Ames Claflin, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Kansas, served with the 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, 8th Tactical Fighter Wing. He was the aircraft commander aboard the F-4C when it crashed, and his remains were not recovered. Subsequent to the incident, and while carried in the status of MIA, the U.S. Air Force promoted Captain Claflin to the rank of Major. Today, Major Claflin is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Kansas City Star (1974)
Dewey Stopa, age 27, from Kansas City, Kansas, Wyandotte county.
Parents: Mary A. Stopa
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, January 29, 1953
Death details: On the evening on January 28, 1953, a B-29 Superfortress (tail number 42-65357A) with a crew of fourteen departed Kadena Air Base in a flight of four. The briefed mission was a night bombing operation targeting the Kompo-Dong supply yard south of Pyongyang, North Korea. Shortly after releasing its payload, the B-29 was attacked by enemy MiG-15 fighters. Just after midnight, the aircraft commander made a distress call and ordered the crew to bail out. A few minutes later, witnesses reported the Superfortress caught fire and exploded in midair near Hungsu-ri. It is believed that five airmen were still aboard the aircraft when it exploded. The nine surviving crew members were captured by the North Koreans; three of them were returned to U.S. custody following the war, and one is known to have died at the Pike’s Peak prisoner interrogation center. While being moved in a convoy to a holding site, the remaining five prisoners were “liberated” by a group of Korean irregulars, believed to be North Koreans masquerading as South Korean guerrillas. Later that day, the B-29’s Aircraft Commander (Captain Gilbert Ashley) was allowed to contact United Nations Forces. On April 24, U.S. forces attempted to rescue the five men, but the rescue aircraft was fired upon during the attempt and the efforts were abandoned. Later reporting revealed the loyalty of the guerrilla unit and the probability that it had used the prisoners as bait. The five prisoners became known as the “Ashley 5,” after the Aircraft Commander, and all five of them remain unaccounted-for, along with the five who were believed to be aboard the plane when it exploded and the one who died at the Pike’s Peak center. First Lieutenant Dewey Stopa, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Kansas, was a member of the 28th Bombardment Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group. He was the bombardier aboard the Superfortress when it went down, and was the crew member who died at the Pike’s Peak interrogation center following the crash. His remains have not been identified and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, First Lieutenant Stopa is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.Relativeswerelatertoldthoseaboardsurvivedthecrashandwereheldcaptivebytheenemy.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Leavenworth Times (1953)
Charles Morales Garcia, age 21, from Wyandotte County Kansas City, Kansas .
Parents: Joseph M. Garcia
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Friday, February 2, 1951
Death details: By mid-November 1950, U.S. and Allied forces had advanced to within approximately sixty miles of the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China. On November 25, approximately 300,000 Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) “volunteers” suddenly and fiercely counterattacked after crossing the Yalu. The 2nd Infantry Division, located the farthest north of units at the Chongchon River, could not halt the CCF advance and was ordered to withdraw to defensive positions at Sunchon in the South Pyongan province of North Korea. As the division pulled back from Kunu-ri toward Sunchon, it conducted an intense rearguard action while fighting to break through well-defended roadblocks set up by CCF infiltrators. The withdrawal was not complete until December 1, and the 2nd Infantry Division suffered extremely heavy casualties in the process. Sergeant Charles Morales Garcia joined the U.S. Army from Kansas and served with the Headquarters Battery, 82nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was captured on December 1, 1950, as his unit provided direct supporting fire to 2nd Infantry Division troops withdrawing from Kunu-ri south to Sunchon, North Korea. He was marched to a holding center in the Pukchin Tarigol Valley where he died of exhaustion, malnutrition, dysentery and pneumonia on February 2, 1951. Although he was buried near the camp, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Sergeant Garcia is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Kansas City Star (1953)
Edward Maurice Poling, age 20, from Kansas, Wyandotte county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Sunday, December 3, 1950
Death details: On the evening of November 27, 1950, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) launched a massive attack against the U.S. and United Nations (UN) troops stationed in the Chosin Reservoir area in north-east North Korea. The resulting seventeen-day conflict became known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. At the time of the initial CCF attack, members of the U.S. Army’s 31st and 32nd Infantry Regiments were defending the area north of Sinhung-ni, on the east side of the reservoir. The defenders were overwhelmed by the numerically superior CCF, and on December 1 were forced to withdraw to friendly lines at Hagaru-ri. Many men were lost or captured during the withdraw, with survivors reaching friendly lines in Hagaru-ri on December 2 and 3. Once at Hagaru-ri, the survivors of the withdrawal manned a section of the perimeter near East Hill, a strong defensive position overlooking the town. On the night of December 3, the Chinese attacked the Hagaru-ri perimeter and overwhelmed the defenders there. Many Americans were killed or went missing during these actions. Corporal Edward Maurice Poling entered the U.S. Army from Kansas and was a member of I Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. On December 3, 1950, he went missing in action during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir while his unit engaged in combat near East Hill, though specific details surrounding his loss are unknown. His remains have not been identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Corporal Poling is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency