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 mortar 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)
Robert Eugene Thompson, age 18, from Wyandotte County Edwardsville, Kansas .
Spouse: Sandra E. Thompson
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, May 4, 1966
Death details: Non-hostile, died in South Vietnam. Died in a helicopter crash.
Source: National Archives, UPI (1966)
Billie Joe Williams, age 20, from Wyandotte County Kansas City, Kansas .
Parents: Alvis S. C. Williams
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, March 21, 1966
Death details: Killed when the helicopter he was aboard was damaged by small arms fire and crashed while going to aid American forces in Vietnam.
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1966)
John Mark Tiderman, age 31, from Wyandotte County Kansas City, Kansas .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, March 21, 1966
Death details: Lieutenant Commander John Mark Tiderman entered the U.S. Navy from Kansas and was a member of Attack Squadron 94, embarked aboard the USS Enterprise (CVAN 65). On March 21, 1966, he was piloting a single-seat A-4C Skyhawk (bureau number 148499, call sign “Hoboken 411”) as one of three launched from Enterprise on an armed reconnaissance mission against enemy targets in North Vietnam. During the mission, the flight leader saw a bright flash to his rear, after which he lost visual and radio contact with “Hoboken 411,” and other aircraft crews reported seeing surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and smoke coming from “Hoboken 411’s” direction. However, no parachutes or rescue beepers were detected, and LCDR Tiderman failed to return from the mission. He was not seen again, and further attempts to locate him were unsuccessful. Today, Lieutenant Commander Tiderman is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.
Source: National Archives, Fresno Bee (1966), Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency