Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Allen Dale Kokesh Jr., age 21, from Yankton, South Dakota, Yankton county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: C Battery, 1St Battalion, 147Th Field Artillery, Yankton, Sd
Date of death: Tuesday, February 7, 2006
Death details: Hostile; Fort Sam Houston, United States
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Daniel Michael Cuka, age 27, from Yankton, South Dakota, Yankton county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Battery C, 1St Bn, 147Th Field Artillery, 49Th Mp Bde (3 Coscom), Yankton, Sd
Date of death: Sunday, December 4, 2005
Death details: Hostile; Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Charles Jr. Lane, age 29, from South Dakota, Yankton county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, August 23, 1967
Death details:
On August 23, 1967, an F-4 Phantom II (tail number 66-0247, call sign “Ford 04”) with two crew members was one of four aircraft on a strike mission against enemy targets in North Vietnam. While en route to the target, the flight was attacked by enemy MiG-21 fighters that fired missiles and hit two of the aircraft, including “Ford 04.” After the two aircraft were shot down, three parachutes were seen and signals from four rescue beepers were detected. One of the crew members aboard “Ford 04” survived the incident and was captured by enemy forces, and returned to U.S. custody following the war. The other crew member was not located following the incident.
First Lieutenant Charles Lane Jr. entered the U.S. Air Force from South Dakota and served in the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron. He was the pilot of “Ford 04” when it was shot down and was lost along with the aircraft. Further attempts to locate his remains were unsuccessful. Following the incident, the Air Force promoted 1st Lt Lane to the rank of Captain (Capt). Today, Captain Lane is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Cemetery: Memorialized in Black Hills National
Source: National Archives, grave marker, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Alphonsus Joseph Weibel from Yankton, South Dakota, Yankton county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Monday, December 18, 1944
Death details: He was aboard the destroyer USS Hull as it operated as part of the Fast Carrier Strike Force in the Philippine Sea. On December 17, 1944, the Hull was participating in refueling operations when the ships of its fueling group were engulfed by Typhoon Cobra. The Hull lost its ability to steer amid the enormous waves and began taking on water. The Hull eventually took on too much water to stay afloat and rolled and sank shortly before noon, on December 18. Sixty-two crew members were rescued, but a little more than two-hundred crew members were lost in the sinking.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
William J. Bauer from South Dakota, Yankton county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, September 12, 1944
Death details: Finding of death
Cemetery: Zachary Taylor National
Source: National Archives, grave marker
George E. Frerking, age 22, from Yankton, South Dakota, Yankton county.
Service era: World War I
Date of death: Wednesday, October 16, 1918
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: Meuse Argonne American
Source: Soldiers of the Great War, findagrave.com
Owen Geraldson, age 23, from Yankton County Utica, South Dakota .
Service era: World War I
Date of death: Wednesday, October 9, 1918
Death details: Died of wounds
Source: Soldiers of the Great War