The End of An Era: Lou & Iris Move to Volunteer State

Transcription

1 IN THIS ISSUE The End of An Era: Lou & Iris Move to Volunteer State by No Turn Charlie Webster Have you heard the news? Lou and Iris have moved away to Tennessee. It s true. At the March meeting of the chapter board of directors Lou and Iris both submitted their letters of resignation after informing the board members they have sold their home and have had an offer on a home in Tennessee accepted. Lou and Iris have been members of the chapter for the past 18 years. Lou has been Chapter President for the past 13 years. Iris has been chapter secretary for nearly her entire tenure with NJ-2. The Amoriellos will now be calling Dandridge, Tennessee home. Dandridge is the county seat in Jefferson County and boasts a population of 2,956 according to the 2010 census. Yeah let that one sink in for a minute. How long before Lou is Mayor and Iris the Town Business Administrator? In 1965, Tennessee adopted the state motto America at its Best. Well they are certainly getting our best. According to chapter records, Lou joined NJ-2 in 2001, just months before the terrorists attacks September 11. For the past 13 years, he has been the Chapter President. Iris joined a few months into 2002 and was almost immediately appointed the Chapter Secretary a position she has held until she stepped down with Lou at the March meeting of the chapter board of directors. Ride for Freedom 2008 Endings are not bad things, they just mean that something else is about to begin. It s an old cliché and there are many things that don t really end, they just begin again in a new way. Their respective resignations are represent a profound loss for the chapter, but the collective influence Lou and Iris have had on the chapter will be felt for years to come. Their removal to another area should come as no shock to anyone, since Lou has talked about escaping New Jersey for years. On Saturday, April 28, Rolling Thunder and Thunder MC joined forces to say good-bye to these two wonderful human beings and dedicated souls to the mission of aiding our veterans. Rolling Thunder founder Sgt. Artie Mueller and others from the National organization were in attendance to say good-bye and wish them well. It was clear: The Amoriellos will be sorely missed. Good luck to you both. POW/MIA Flag 50-State Tour The Traveling POW/MIA Flag is on a 50-state tour of the nation to bring awareness to the issue of unaccounted-for service members. The flad made its way through New Jersey last month and RTNJ2 was a part of the journey. Page 20 Meet a New Member Read how a chance meeting with some chapter members at a Wawa and a conversation with Harold led to him joining the chapter and his dedication to our combined missions. Page 3 WHEN ONE AMERICAN IS NOT WORTH THE EFFORT TO BE FOUND, WE AS AMERICANS HAVE LOST 1

2 Rolling Thunder, Inc. New Jersey - 2 P.O. Box 478 Forked River, NJ A 501c4 Not-For-Profit Organization EXECUTIVE OFFICERS Charles Webster President (732) president@rollingthunder-nj2.org Charlie Amiano Vice President Diana Kinder Secretary secretary@rollingthunder-nj2.org Steve Farrell Treasurer Harold Einhorn Sergeant-at-Arms Road Captain David Albertson Chaplain BOARD OF DIRECTORS Brenda Einhorn Chairman of the Board Art Mattei, Jr. Donna McLaughlin Pat Moore Mike O Connor Steve Schonbaum Jay Theuret ALTERNATE BOARD MEMBERS Mike Flavin MISSION STATEMENT The major function of Rolling Thunder Inc. is to publicize the POW-MIA issue. To educate the public that many American Prisoners of War were left behind after all previous wars and to help correct the past and to protect future veterans from being left behind should they become Prisoners Of War Missing In Action. We are also committed to helping American veterans from all wars. MEETING INFORMATION Meetings are held at 7:30PM on the third Wednesday of each month at Lacey Community Hall, located at Route 9 and Lacey Road, Forked River. From the President: I want to take this opportunity thank everyone who has offered their support and congratulations after I assumed the role as chapter president. Your continued support will be needed as we move forward. We are on an adventure and we are on this journey together. I cannot stress enough the value of our continued support of each other for the success of this chapter. Lou provided us with great leadership, and his presence will be missed, but we must move forward together in order to honor his hard work and dedication to our mission. I want to express my sincere congratulations to both him and Iris on their new journey. I wish them the best in all their future endeavors. If for no other reason, our continued support of the mission should be dedicated to our veterans those who are missing, unaccounted for and inneed that is something that Lou lived every day, and I intend to follow his example as we move forward. We will put our veterans first. That is our mission today, tomorrow and forever. It is a mission we can all take pride in our efforts. Make no mistake about my intentions to continue our work to fulfill our mission and continue to focus our efforts to maintain our status as the best chapter within the Rolling Thunder Inc. organization. That s a bold statement, I know, but I intend to work very hard at accomplishing our mission and maintaining the high-level of success established under Lou s tenure as president. I owe you all at least that much for entrusting me with this position. We have a lot of events and mission-related tasks already planned or in the works for We will continue our course, and it is my sincere hope that this transition will be smooth, seamless and simple as we move ahead into a new era with like-minded ideas and expectations for our future. Lastly, I am open to all your thoughtful suggestions about improving the chapter. Please feel free to reach out by any means to make your suggestions and I will give each suggestion careful consideration, just as you did in developing the idea. We have a lot of work to accomplish for a lot of veterans who have been ignored or forgotten by our government and fellow citizens. We have taken on the awesome responsibility of finding aid and comfort for our veterans, while also keeping the memory of more than 80,000 veterans who never came home, and our government has failed to provide their families the answers needed for closure. Okay, let s get to work! Charlie Calendar of Events April 7: Freedom Rocks Fest August 4: Benjamin Moore Run Doors open New Freedom Farm August 4-5: Run for the Fallen at noon Lithia Road Concert 4p-7p Buchanan, Virginia Washington, DC newfreedomconcert.bpt.me Aug. 25: NH-2 Freedom Ride April 21: 15 th Annual Candlelight Vigil Claremont, NH Toms River Armory Sept. 16: 1200 Whitesviile Road Toms River, NJ May 6: May 24-28: June 10: July 7: July 7: July 12-17: 22 Too Many BBQ Thunder MC Clubhouse 198 Route 9 North Englishtown, NJ Ride for Freedom XXXI Demonstration Run Washington, DC Hyatt Regency Crystal City Country Western BBQ NJ-3 Freedom Ride Belvidere, NJ NY-2 3-Boro Ride Staten Island, NY Canadian Cross-Border Trip Sept October Nov. 1-4: Nov. 11: December December: December Ride for Freedom Warinenco Park, Roselle to NJ Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Holmdel The Ride Home Andersonville, Ga. Chatsworth Cranberry Fest RT National Conference Hyatt Regency Crystal City Veterans Day Run Chapter Christmas Party Toy Drive (ARMS) Veterans Christmas Party *Events in RED note mandatory attendance 2

3 George Bergner By Frank Bartolomey George Bergner was riding solo one day last summer when he stopped for a cup of Joe at the Wawa on Monmouth Road in Jackson.He sees a slot for his bike amongst a bunch of bikes and asks if he may pull in. He's waved in. Curious to know what these bikers were all about with the Rolling Thunder patches on their back, Harold Einhorn explained and George hasn't looked back. He has been to meetings, attended our Freedom Run, Cranberry Festival, Veteran's Day Run, Pasta Dinner fund raiser, our annual candlelight vigil and and looks forward to the DC Freedom Ride. Looking forward to earning his Eagle and Rocker in June, I think it is safe to say, we have a keeper in George Bergner!!! 3

4 22 Too Many Event Report Our 3rd Annual 22 Too Many BBQ held at the clubhouse of Thunder Motorcycle Club was well attended. A big shout out and Thank You goes out to Rolling Thunder, Inc. New York - 2 who showed up 50 strong for the event. A large number of members from National were in attendance, and we received wonderful support from our hosts at Thunder Motorcycle Club. New Jersey-3 was on hand for our event also. A great event and we raised awareness for our 22 Too Many campaign. Bigger and better ideas are in the works for next year. From the Office of Congressman Tom MacArthur Veterans Claims Clinic Scheduled for July The next Veterans Administration claims clinic has been scheduled with Congressman Tom MacArthur s office for July 9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Willingboro Public Library, 220 Willingboro Parkway, Willingboro, NJ For more information call: Representatives will be on hand to assist know anyone who might need help with claims or have any questions. Rolling Thunder Inc. National Executive Director Sgt. Artie Muller, National President Joe Bean and Vice President Tom Dalessio announced on May 10, their selection of our very own Harold Einhorn as the next State Liaison for New Jersey. Harold fills the vacancy created with Lou Amoriello's departure to Tennessee. They could not have made a better choice, as Harold has years of experience within the organization and will provide all New Jersey chapters with the support and guidance necessary for our combined success. Please join me in congratulating Harold on his new position. He will not be leaving NJ-2 and will retain his position as the chapter Sergeant-at-Arms in addition to his newly expanded duties. The duties of the State Liaison include being the liaison between the chapters in the state and National, but also include having an important role in correcting problems and issues that arise amongst the chapters. The State Liaison is tasked with the decisive authority in the state over the conduct of all Chapter Officers and emebers. If the need exists, the State Liaison may recommend to National, probation, suspension, or termination of any Chapter officers or members. The State Liaison is also a Delegate to the National Conference in November. The position is a two-year appointment. Congratulations Harold!!! 4

5 22 TOO MANY MISSION CARRIED TO VIRGINIA FARM Chapter members attended the First Annual Freedom Fest at the New Freedom Farm BUCHANAN, Va. A celebration of freedom and the veterans who have helped provide those freedoms was on tap for New Freedom Farm the first weekend of April with a senses overload of music, patriotism and fun all focused on saving the lives and the 22 Too Many campaign. It was all capped off with frigid temperatures, rain, snow and muddy conditions, but that did nothing to dampen the spirits of the estimated crowd of over 800 attendees from as far away as Mississippi, North Carolina and many other locales. Many of the attendees wore the familiar Eagle and Rocker of Rolling Thunder, Inc. and locals were also very supportive of the event. The First Annual Freedom Rocks Fest on Saturday, April 7, 2018 made a big showing with musical performances by local artists and a special musical performance by country music artist Rocky Lynne. Freedom Rocks Fest focused on awareness for the 22 veterans per day who are committing suicide on average every day. No matter what hardships we endure, we are strong enough to handle them AND they help us to become not only stronger, but more compassionate, Lois Fritz, founder of New Freedom Farm and the organizer of Freedom Rocks Fest told the crowd. My life as I knew it changed forever in 2009 when someone I knew and loved committed suicide. He was a United States Marine who suffered with the disease of addiction and was a hurting soul. Each and every day we must try to make a difference in our veterans lives that s ultimately what Freedom Rocks fest is all about. Fritz founded New Freedom Farm in The former forensic nurse from New Jersey who settled in Buchanan, Virginia with her husband, created the farm out of her personal understanding of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and her firsthand experiences of relief found through time spent in the midst of her horses. The personal journey now focuses on stemming the tide of suicides among veterans and U.S. servicemembers. The suicide rate among our veterans is at epidemic proportions and the pain they leave behind with the people that love them is real. Freedom Rocks Fest is a fantastic way to bring people together with a common goal of saving lives. New Freedom Farm has partnered with Rolling Thunder Inc. and a lengthy list of support groups to bring this confluence of music and awareness onto the 13-acre facility where veterans are treated every day. Rocky Lynne, a native of Statesville, North Carolina, the headliner for the event, played a flawless set of music from his catalog of songs that has made him well known to country music fans. He has made 14 appearances on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. Lynne has produced four singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, and his music has been included in television programs like an Emmy Award-winning program produced by Wisconsin Public Television, CBS Criminal Minds episodes and Fox NFL Sunday broadcast. Members from the more than 90 chapters of Rolling Thunder, Inc. arrived at New Freedom Farm in support of Freedom Rocks Fest. New Freedom Farm is doing essential work helping our veterans with mental health issues. Lois work is literally saving lives every day. The mission of New Freedom Farm fits perfectly with our mission to aid all veterans in need, said Sgt. Artie Mueller, founder and Executive Director of Rolling Thunder, Inc. One touching story that punctuated the important work of Fritz s work at the farm accompanied a man who travelled from North Carolina to see the concert and meet Lois and Mitchell, but not before he had his motorcycle breakdown at the start of his journey forcing him to retrieve his pick-up truck. But a crash and a run-in with law enforcement delayed his arrival. Determined to make it to the concert the man completed his trip with his thumb, hitchhiking his way to Interstate 81 near Buchanan before he called for a rided to the show. Freedom Rocks Fest featured over 50 vendors delivering food, fun, information and awareness. An F-4 Phantom jet from the Vietnam War era was on display, along with other military vehicles from the Roanoke Military Vehicle Club. New Freedom Farm was founded in 2016 and is home to 19 equines, including three mares and their foals saved from slaughter, a number of mini horses, mini donkeys, a hinny and a mule. Built on faith and determination, New Freedom Farm is dedicated to helping those who have served our country along with their families. New Freedom Farm is a safe place for veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury(TBI), depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and secondary traumas. The 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization survives solely off donations and faith. There is never a charge to veterans who wish to visit and all visitors are welcome by appointment. New Freedom Farm is a sanctuary. Not only is the farm a place for healing humans, but it is also a place dedicated to providing safe haven for its equine residents. Much like the veterans served by the facility, the horses find shelter at the afrm following stress-filled situations many have been abandoned to an auction circuit that often delivers them to the hands of kill buyers. We believe it is the essence of the horse combined with their journeys to us that makes our program unique. The sensitivity of the horse delivers an honesty and truth for the veteran who is having trouble trusting others, Fritz explained. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can be described as a mental health condition triggered by experiencing or seeing a terrifying event. The symptoms can include agitation, irritability, hostility, hyper-vigilance, self-destructive behavior, or social isolation. As many as 20% of veterans returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom) have been diagnosed with PTSD. 30% of Vietnam Vets suffer from PTSD. U.S. Veterans commit suicide at an average rate of 22 per day. Many PTSD/TBI Veterans are isolated or withdrawn. Studies have shown that interacting with an animal, such as a horse, can be very helpful and calming to those suffering from PTSD. Visiting with the equines at New Freedom Farm helps with isolation, communication, trust, and social skills. 5

6 March The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced in March 2018 the remains of the following U.S. serviceman, missing from our nation s previous wars, have been identified and will be returned to their respective families for burial. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on March 27 US Navy Reserve Aviation Ordnanceman 2 nd Class Ora H. Sharninghouse, Jr., 22, of McComb, Ohio, was accounted-for on Aug. 10, 2017, and was buried with full military honors on April 7 in Findlay, Ohio. On Sept. 8, 1944, Sharninghouse was a member of the Navy Torpedo Squadron Eighteen (VT-18), USS Intrepid, on a bombing mission against Japanese positions on Babelthuap Island, Palau. As the aircraft reached the target area, the pilot began a dive near Bokerugeru Point and the crew released its 2,000-pound bomb. While attempting to pull out of the dive, the bomb hit an ammunition dump and exploded. The explosion tore the tail from the aircraft, causing it to crash off-shore. Sharninghouse was reported missing in action. After combat operations in the area ceased, the American Graves Registration Service travelled to Palau to investigate and attempt to recover missing service members. No record of the crash site was found. In 2005, BentProp Project, a nonprofit Non-Government Organization of volunteers who work with DPAA in the Republic of Palau, located a piece of the starboard wing of an aircraft near Bokerugeru Point. Subsequent investigations located the main body of the aircraft offshore. In 2014, possible human remains were located within the main body of the aircraft, and sent to the Central Identification Laboratory for analysis. In April 2015, a DPAA Underwater Recovery Team excavated the site and recovered additional remains and material evidence. Sharninghouse s remains were identified using DNA analysis, which matched his family; anthropological analysis, which matched his records; and historical evidence. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on March 27 US Marine Corps Private First Class Lyle E. Charpilloz, 19, of Silverton, Oregon, accounted for on Sept. 27, 2017, was buried with full military honors.april 7, in Salem, Oregon. Charpilloz was assigned to Company F, 2 nd Battalion, 8 th Marine Regiment, 2 nd Marine Division, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, but the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Charpilloz died on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, In the immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island. In 1946 and 1947, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio Island, but Charpilloz remains were not recovered. In 1949, a military review board declared Charpilloz remains nonrecoverable. In 2014, through a partnership with History Flight, Inc., DPAA received remains from a site where Charpilloz was believed to have been buried. The recovered remains were sent to the laboratory for analysis. In 2016, DPAA disinterred Tarawa Unknown X-5 from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, and submitted the remains for analysis. Based on consistent recovery context and shared DNA, the remains were consolidated with those accessioned in Charpilloz remains were identified using DNA analysis, which matched his family, dental and anthropological analysis, which matched his records, as well as circumstantial evidence. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on March 27 US Marine Corps Private John M. Tillman, 21, of Reno, Nevada, accounted for on Sept. 5, 2017, was buried with full military honors on April 6 in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. Tillman was assigned to Company F, 2 nd Battalion, 2 nd Marine Regiment, 2 nd Marine Division, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, but the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Tillman died on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, In the immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island. The 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio between 1946 and 1947, but Tillman s remains were not identified. All of the remains found on Tarawa were sent to the Schofield Barracks Central Identification Laboratory for identification in By 1949, the remains that had not been identified were interred in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP) in Honolulu. On March 13, 2017, DPAA disinterred Tarawa Unknown X-35 from the NMCP and sent the remains to DPAA for analysis. Tillman s remains were identified using dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, which matched his records, as well as circumstantial evidence. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on March 27 US Army Air Forces 2 nd Lt. William H. Harth, Jr., 22, of Columbia, South Carolina, accounted for on Nov. 3, 2017, was buried with full military honors on April 6 in his hometown. Harth was a bombardier assigned to the 329 th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 93 rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), which was known as The Traveling Circus. On Aug. 1, 1943, he served on a B-24D aircraft, nicknamed Hell s Angels, when he was participating in a historic mission, codenamed Operation TIDAL WAVE, which was the first large-scale, low-altitude attack by U.S. heavy bomber aircraft on Ploesti, Romania. As Harth s aircraft approached Ploesti, it was hit by German anti-aircraft fire. He was declared missing in action when his aircraft failed to return following the mission. In the days following the bombing raid, Romanian officials and civilians recovered and interred the remains of the deceased American Airmen in the Hero Section of the Bolovan Cemetery. In 1946 and 1947, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) teams disinterred the remains of Americans killed in the raid, and reinterred them in the American Military Cemetery at Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium (now known as Ardennes American Cemetery). The AGRC was able to identify 145 Airmen killed during Operation TIDAL WAVE, including three of Harth s crewmates, however he was Continued on next page 6

7 listed as non-recoverable. One set of unidentified remains was listed as Unknown X-5192 Neuville. After a thorough historical and scientific analysis, it was determined that X-5192 could likely be identified. After receiving approval, in 2017, Unknown X was disinterred from Neuville and sent to DPAA for analysis. Harth s remains were identified using DNA analysis, which matched his family, as well as dental comparisons and anthropological analysis, which matched his records, and circumstantial evidence. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on March 27 US Air Force Colonel Edgar F. Davis, 32, of Goldsboro, North Carolina, accounted for on Dec. 19, 2017, was buried with full military honors on April 6 in his hometown. On Sept. 17, 1968, Davis was a navigator aboard a RF-4C Phantom fighter-bomber aircraft, assigned to the 11 th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 432 nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. Davis and his pilot were on a night photo-reconnaissance mission over the Lao People s Democratic Republic (LPDR) when they were shot down by anti-aircraft artillery fire. The pilot ejected out of the aircraft and was rescued; however no contact could be established with Davis. Because of this, he was declared missing in action. Search and rescue efforts were suspended after failing to locate Davis or the aircraft wreckage. Davis was later declared deceased. Between 2001 and 2015, joint US/LPDR teams investigated a crash site six times that correlated with Davis loss. Excavations recovered personal effects, but analysis could not confirm whether Davis was in the aircraft at the time of the crash. A subsequent team excavated an ejection seat location associated with the crash. In 2015, a Stony Beach debriefer in Bangkok, Thailand obtained information from a villager concerning the burial location of a U.S. service member in Boulapha District, Khammouan Province, LPDR. The villager claimed that in 1968, his father came across the remains of a US pilot and buried them near his house. The villager turned over bone fragments, which were sent to DPAA for analysis. Davis remains were identified using DNA analysis, which matched his family, as well as material and circumstantial evidence. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on March 27 US Army Corporal Roy J. Hopper, 21, of Miami, accounted for on June 23, 2017, was buried with full military honors on April 6 in Dayton, Ohio. In July 1950, Hopper was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2 nd Battalion 19 th Infantry Regiment. He was reportedly killed in action on July 31, 1950, when his battalion, along with another battalion, was engaged in a fighting withdrawal against North Korean forces in Chinju, South Korea. The enemy had control of the area following the battle, preventing a search for his remains. After the battle Hopper s remains were not identified. In early 1951, the graves at Masan cemetery were exhumed and the unknowns were transferred to the U.S. Army s Central Identification unit in Kokura, Japan. Remains that could not be identified were transferred to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, including Unknown X-119. After thorough historical and scientific analysis, it was determined that X-119 could likely be identified. After receiving approval, X-119 was disinterred on Jan. 9, 2017 and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis. Hopper s remains were identified using DNA analysis, which matched his brother and sister, as well as dental and anthropological analysis, which matched his records, and circumstantial evidence. Accounted-for and Returned to Family March 26, 2018 U.S. Army Cpl. William C. McDowell, 20, of Stuttgart, Arkansas, accounted for on January 10, was buried with full military honors April 4 in Arlington National Cemetery. McDowell was a member of Company D, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. Approximately 2,500 U.S. and 700 South Korean soldiers assembled into the 31st Regimental Combat Team, which was deployed east of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, when it was attacked by overwhelming numbers of Chinese forces. As the Chinese attacks continued, American forces withdrew south. McDowell was reported missing in action as of Dec. 2, 1950, and the U.S. Army declared him deceased on March 15, In 1994, North Korea unilaterally turned over 33 boxes of remains, which were purportedly recovered from South Hamgyong Province, North Korea. The remains were accessioned to the Central Identification Laboratory, a predecessor to DPAA, in Hawaii. McDowell s remains were identified using DNA analysis, which matched his family, anthropological analysis, which matched his records, and material evidence. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on March 23 U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Pete W. Simon, 34, of Grindstone, Pennsylvania, accounted for on Jan. 11, 2018, was returned to his family for burial with full military honors. Simon was a member of Company G, 2 nd Battalion, 8 th Cavalry Regiment, 1 st Cavalry Division, participating in a defense of the Pusan Perimeter, a large defensive line west and north of Pusan, South Korea. Simon was reported to have been killed in action Sept. 5, 1950, but his remains were not located following the battle. In May 1951, American Graves Registration Service personnel recovered three sets of remains after a villager notified them of remains near his village on Hill 762. The remains were sent to the Tanggok United Nations Military Cemetery. One set of remains, identified as Unknown X-1085 Tanggok, were later transferred to the Central Identification Unit -Kokura for possible identification. However, identification could not be established and the remains were declared unidentifiable and interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In 2017, DPAA disinterred Unknown X-1085 from the Punchbowl and Simon s remains were identified using laboratory analysis, including anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, which matched his records, and material evidence. Accounted-for on March 23 U.S. Army Air Forces Captain George Van Vleet, killed during World War II, a member of the 38 th Bombardment Squadron, (Heavy), 30 th Bombardment Group, stationed at Hawkins Field, Helen Island, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands, has now been accounted-for. On Jan. 21, 1944, Van Vleet was killed as a passenger in a B-24J bomber aircraft which crashed shortly after take-off. Interment services are pending. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on March 22 U.S, Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Frank A. Fazekas, 22, of Trenton, New Jersey, accounted-for on Aug. 7, 2017, was buried with full military honors on March 28 in Arlington National Cemetery. On May 27, 1944, Fazekas was a member of the 22nd Fighter Squadron, 36th Fighter Group, when he was returning from a mission over northern France and his P- 47 Thunderbolt aircraft came under enemy fire. His aircraft crashed in a field north of the French village of Buysscheure. His remains were not recovered and the U.S. Army reported him deceased on May 27, In July 1946, a Continued on next page 7

8 British recovery team investigated a crash site associated with Fazekas loss. The team recovered aircraft parts and personal effects, but his remains were not recovered. Based on this information, the American Graves Registration Command declared his remains unrecoverable. On July 16, 2012, a team of historians and an anthropologist from the Defense POW/ Missing Personnel Office and Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (both predecessors to DPAA) visited the crash site. The team received assistance from local residents and officials, as well as research from Mr. Joss LeClercq, a French historian. In August 2016, a team from the University of Wisconsin- Madison, augmented by DPAA, excavated the crash site, recovering possible remains. The remains were sent to DPAA on August 31, Fazekas remains were identified by using DNA, which matched his family, as well as anthropological analysis matching his records, and circumstantial evidence. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on March 22 U.S. Army Corporal Thomas H. Mullins, 18, of Harriman, Tennessee, a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, was identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors. On Nov. 2, 1950, Mullins was reported missing in action, following combat between the Chinese and his regiment, near Unsan, North Korea. Approximately 600 men were killed, captured or missing from his battalion. Mullins was subsequently declared missing in action. At the end of the war, during Operation Big Switch, where all remaining prisoners of war were returned, former prisoners were interviewed. One reported that Mullins died while being held in POW Camp 5, Pyokdong, North Korea. In 1993, North Korea turned over 33 boxes containing remains believed to be unaccounted-for Americans from the Korean War. The remains were reportedly recovered from Tongju-ri, Pyokdong County, North Pyongan Province, North Korea, which was the known location of POW Camp 5. Mullins remains were identified by scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System using DNA analysis, which matched two cousins, as well as anthropological analysis, which matched his records, and circumstantial evidence. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on March 20 U.S. Army Cpl. Dow F. Worden, 20, of Boardman, Oregon, accounted for on July 24, 2017, and returned to his family for burial with full military honors on March 27 in Arlington National Cemetery. In late September 1951, Worden was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, which was in the vicinity of Hill 1024 in South Korea, conducting operations near an area known as Heartbreak Ridge. In the early morning hours, the Chinese launched a probing attack against Worden s company, on the forward slope of Hill The company repelled the attacks and was relieved by the Republic of Korea Army elements and ordered to move east and attack the enemy on nearby Hill 867. American forces withdrew from the offensive after a large barrage of enemy mortar fire. After the battle, Worden could not be accounted for and was declared missing in action on Sept. 28, 1951, and the U.S. Army declared him deceased on Dec. 31, In 2016, South Korea turned over remains believed to be unaccounted-for U.S. servicemen from the Korean War. The remains were recovered from an area associated with the Heartbreak Ridge battles, and were sent to the laboratory for analysis. Worden s remains were identified using DNA analysis, which matched his family, as well as dental and anthropological analysis, which matched his records, and circumstantial evidence. Identified and Returned to Family March 19 Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Donald J. Hall, 29, of Stroud, Oklahoma, was buried with full military honors on March 26 in Arlington National Cemetery. On Feb. 6, 1967, Hall was a member of Detachment 5, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, when he, along with three other service members, were flying an HH-3E helicopter on a rescue and recovery mission over northern Vietnam. After rescuing the pilot of a downed aircraft, Hall s helicopter was hit by enemy ground fire, resulting in an internal explosion and crash. Hall was subsequently reported missing in action. His status was later amended to deceased. In 2017, a Vietnamese Office for Seeking Missing Persons team excavated a crash site associated with Hall s loss, near Bai Dinh Hamlet, Dan Hoa Village, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam, and recovered remains and material evidence. The remains were sent to DPAA and Hall s remains were identified by scientist from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System using DNA analysis, which matched his family, as well as anthropological analysis, which matched his records and circumstantial evidence. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on March 16 Army Pvt. Rudolph Johnson, 20, of Malvern, Arkansas, a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 365 th Infantry Regiment, 92 nd Infantry Division, has been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors. Johnson was a member of the racially segregated 92nd ID, the only Black division to fight in Europe. As part of Operation Fourth Term, Johnson s regiment fought for days to secure positions along the Lama di Sotto ridge against strong German counterattacks. Johnson was reported missing in action as of Feb. 6, The War Department changed his status to killed in action on Feb In 1947, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) personnel recovered a set of remains designated as Unknown X-298 in the vicinity of Lama di Sotto, Italy. They recovered a second set of remains in the same investigation and identified them as another member of Johnson s regiment. Unknown X-298 could not be identified and was buried at the United States Military Cemetery at Castelfiorentino, Italy on May 14, In 1948, the AGRS personnel disinterred Unknown X-298 and tried unsuccessfully to make an identification. The remains were reinterred in the USMC Florence American Cemetery on Dec. 16, In 2016, X-298 was disinterred and sent to DPAA for analysis. Johnson s remains were identified matching his family, as well as dental and anthropological analysis matching his records and historical evidence. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on March 15 Accounted-for on March 15: Marine Corps Reserve Private First Class Manuel Menendez, 20, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division remains were recently accounted-for and returned to his family for burial with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. Private Menendez died on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943, after landing with his unit against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands. U.S. Army Corporal James I. Jubb, of Annapolis, Maryland, a member of Co. E, 19 th Infantry Regiment, 24 th Infantry Division, was killed on Aug. 10, 1950, while engaged with the enemy near the Naktong River, South Korea during the Korean War. Continued on next page 8

9 Accounted-for and Returned to Family on March 15 U.S. Army Staff Sergeant David Rosenkrantz, of Los Angeles, California, and a member of Co. H, 504 th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82 nd Airborne Division, was killed on Sept. 28, 1944, while engaged with the enemy with German tanks and infantry at a farm south of Groesbeek, The Netherlands during Operation Market Garden in World War II. Accounted-for on March 15: U.S. Army Sgt. Julius E. McKinney, hometown unknown, a member of Heavy Mortar Company, 32 nd Infantry Regiment, 7 th Infantry Division, was engaged with enemy forces east of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea during the Korean War in late He was listed as Missing In Action (MIA) on Dec. 2, Accounted-for and Returned to Family on March 9 U.S. Marine Corps Private George F. Patrick, 22, of Dallas, Texas, and a member of Company D, 1st Battalion 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, was returned to his family for burial with full military honors. Private Patrick died on the first day of the battle on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, Nov. 20, 1943, during World War II. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on March 9 U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Harry E. Harkness, 22, of Lansing, Michigan, of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, was returned to his family for burial with full military honors. SFC Harkness was participating in combat actions against Chinese forces in the vicinity of Unsan, North Korea. Harkness was reported missing in action as of Nov. 2, 1950 when he could not be accounted for by his unit. Following the war, during an operation known as Operation Big Switch, when prisoners of war were returned, returning Americans from Pyoktong Camp 5 reported that Harkness had been captured and died while at POW Camp 5 some time in In 1993, North Korea unilaterally turned over 34 boxes containing remains reportedly to be unaccounted-for servicemen from the Korean War. One set of remains came from the area which corresponds to the known location of POW Camp 5, where Harkness was believed to have died. Harkness remains were identified by using DNA analysis, matching his family, as well as anthropological analysis which matched his records; and circumstantial evidence. Accounted-for March 8: U.S. Army Air Forces 1 st Lt. William W. Shank, of Harrisonburg, Virginia, a pilot with the 338 th Fighter Squadron, 50 th Fighter Group, 66 th Fighter Wing, 8 th Fighter command, 8 th Air Force, was killed following a dogfight after his squadron encountered heavy resistance from the German Luftwaffe while flying his P-38 Mustang on a mission over Bremen, Germany during World War II. Accounted-for in March US Navy Radioman 3rd Class Jack R. Goldwater, ##, was accounted-for on March 27; U.S. Navy Water Tender 2nd Class Porter L. Rich, 27, of Lake Preston, South Dakota, accounted for on Aug. 28, 2017, was buried on March 23, 2018 in his hometown with full military honors; U.S. Navy Fireman 1st Class Jarvis G. Outland, was accounted-for on March 19; U.S. Navy Radioman 3rd Class Howard V. Keffer, of California, and U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Private First Class Herman W. Mulligan, of Greenville, South Carolina, both were accounted-for on March 7. The men were killed on Dec. 7, 1941, during the attack on the USS Oklahoma which was moored at Ford s Island, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen. In 2015, DPAA disinterred remains from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as non-recoverable. In 2015, the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a policy memorandum directing the disinterment of unknowns associated with the USS Oklahoma. In 2015, DPAA personnel began exhuming the remains from the NMCP for analysis. The remains of these men were identified using DNA analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence and laboratory analysis, dental comparisons and anthropological analysis in some cases. Interment services are pending. MULLIGAN RICH GOLDWATER P O W / M I A W e W i l l N e v e r F o r g e t WWI - 3,344 WWII - 72,934 Korea - 7,704 Vietnam - 1,598 Cold War Iraq & Other Conflicts - 6 9

10 April The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced in March 2018 the remains of the following U.S. serviceman, missing from our nation s previous wars, have been identified and will be returned to their respective families for burial. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on April 25 U.S. Navy Reserve Lieutenant William Q. Punnell, 27, of Flandreau, South Dakota, was accounted for on June 23, 2017, and was buried with full military honors on May 2 in Arlington National Cemetery. On July 25, 1944, Punnell was the acting commanding officer of the VF-14 Fighter Squadron, departing from the aircraft carrier USS Wasp in his F6F-3 Hellcat with several other aircraft on a strafing mission against Japanese targets on the islands of the Republic of Palau. The mission was to strafe the Babelthaup (now Babeldaob) Airbase and the two Arakabesan Seaplane bases. Punnell s aircraft encountered intense antiaircraft fire over the islands of Palau. His Hellcat was in the lead position when the tail of the plane was seen taking a direct hit. He crashed approximately 300 feet from the northern seaplane base, and his aircraft sank on impact. The other pilots on the mission did not witness Punnell bail out from his aircraft. Following multiple unsuccessful attempts to locate Punnell s Hellcat, it was located by the Project Recover, a nonprofit NGO of volunteers and professionals who work with DPAA in the Republic of Palau, in March 2014 through use of modern techniques and scuba diving grid surveys. During a dive on April 2, 2014, a DPAA forensic anthropologist discovered osseous remains in the area of the cockpit. The remains were turned over to the Palau Historic Preservation Office, and then were received by DPAA and sent to the laboratory for analysis. In April 2015, a DPAA Underwater Recovery Team excavated the site and recovered additional remains and material evidence. In March 2016, a subsequent excavation was completed by SEARCH, an archaeological contracting firm, where additional remains and material evidence were recovered. Punnell s remains were identified using DNA, dental and anthropological analysis, and historical evidence. Accounted-for on April 23 U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Rufus L. Ketchum, missing from the Korean War and a member of Medical Detachment, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 31st Regimental Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division was accounted for on April 23. In late November 1950, approximately 2,500 U.S. and 700 South Korean soldiers assembled into the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), which was deployed east of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, when it was attacked by overwhelming numbers of Chinese forces. As the Chinese attacks continued, American forces withdrew south. The U.S. Army evacuated approximately 1,500 service members; the remaining soldiers had been either captured, killed or missing in enemy territory. McKinney was reported missing in action on Dec. 6, 1950, after he was last seen in the vicinity of Hagaru-ri. Interment services are pending. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on April 19 U.S. Army Corporal Leonard V. Purkapile, 26, of Potosi, Wisconsin, accounted for on February 12, will be buried April 26, in Lancaster, Wisconsin. In late November 1950, Purkapile was a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, engaged in combat operations against the Chinese People s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) in the vicinity of Unsan, while withdrawing southeast to Yongbyon, North Korea. Following the battle, Purkapile Could not be accounted for and he was reported as missing in action on Nov. 28, By the end of the war, his status was changed to deceased and his remains deemed non-recoverable. On November 30, 1993, North Korea unilaterally turned over 33 boxes containing remains believed to be U.S. servicemen killed during the Korean War. The remains in one box were reportedly recovered in the vicinity of Okchang-ri, Nyongbyon County, North Pyongan Province, North Korea, which was less than three kilometers from where Purkapile was last seen. Purkapile s remains were identified using DNA analysis, as well as anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on April 18 U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Milton M. Beed, 30, of Meadow Grove, Nebraska, was accounted for on Dec. 4, 2017, and was buried with full military honors on April 25 in Norfolk, Nebraska. In February 1951, Beed was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, supporting Republic of Korea Army attacks against units of the Chinese People s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) in the village of Hoengsong, an area known as the Central Corridor in South Korea. After enduring sustained enemy attacks, the American units withdrew to Wonju, South Korea. It was during this withdrawal that Beed was reported missing, as of Feb. 12, In December 1951, Beed s name appeared on a list provided by the CPVF and Korean People s Army (KPA) of allied service members who died while in their custody. One returning American prisoner of war reported that Beed had died while a prisoner at the Suan Prisoner of War Camp Complex in North Korea. Based off of this information, the Army declared him deceased as of Oct. 31, Between 1990 and 1994, North Korea returned to the United States 208 boxes of commingled human remains, which were later determined to contain the remains of at least 400 U.S. servicemen who fought during the war. On May 28, 1992, North Korea turned over 15 boxes of remains believed to be unaccounted-for Americans Continued on next page 10

11 from the war. Beed s remains were identified using DNA analysis, dental and anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Accounted-for April 18 U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sergeant Vincent L. Politte, killed during World War II, a gunner with the 345 th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98 th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9 th Air Force, has now been accounted for. Politte was killed while participating in a raid on the Ploesti Oil Refinery complex north of Bucharest, Romania, during Operation Tidal Wave. The goal of the operation was to destroy the refineries in the area in order to hamper the German war effort. During the raid, Politte s B-24 Liberator aircraft was hit by machine gun fire and crashed. Following the war, his remains could not be identified. Interment services are pending. Accounted-for April 18 U.S. Army Private First Class John H. Walker, missing from World War II, a member of Company E, 2 nd Battalion, 18 th Infantry Regiment, 1 st Infantry Division, has now been accounted for. On Nov. 24, 1944, Walker was reported missing in action after his unit engaged in fierce fighting on Hill 207 near Schönthal, Germany in the Hürtgen Forest. With no evidence that Walker had been captured or survived combat, his status was changed to deceased on Nov. 25, Accounted-for April 18 U.S. Marine Corps Private First Class Clarence E. Drumheiser, killed during World War II, assigned to Company D, 1 st Battalion, 6 th Marine Regiment, 2 nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, has now been accounted for. Drumheiser and his unit landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, but the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Drumheiser died on the third day of the battle, Nov. 22, Accounted-for and Returned to Family on April 18 U.S. Army Private Raymond Sinowitz, 25, of Bronx, New York, accounted for on Aug , will be buried April 23 in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C. On Dec. 8, 1941, Sinowitz was a member of 454th Ordnance Company, 27th Bombardment Group, the Far East Air Force, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of the Corregidor Island on May 6, Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were taken prisoner; including many who were forced to endure the Bataan Death March, en route to Japanese prisoner of war (POW) camps, including the POW camp at Cabanatuan on the island of Luzon, Philippines. Sinowitz was among those reported captured after the surrender of Corregidor and who were eventually moved to the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the remaining years of the war. According to prisoner records, Sinowitz died on Sept. 26, 1942, and was buried along with fellow prisoners in the local Cabanatuan camp cemetery. Following the war, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) personnel exhumed those buried at the Cabanatuan cemetery and relocated the remains to a temporary U.S. military cemetery near Manila. In late 1947, the AGRS again exhumed the remains at the Manila cemetery in an attempt to identify them. Due to the circumstances of the POW deaths and burials, the extensive commingling, and the limited identification technologies of the time, all of the remains could not be individually identified. The unidentified remains were reburied as unknowns in the present-day Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. In May 2016, the Secretary of the Army granted permission to exhume six graves associated with the Cabanatuan Common Grave 439. On May 11, 2017, the remains were sent to DPAA for identification. Sinowitz remains were identified using DNA analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence and laboratory analysis, to include dental comparisons and anthropological analysis. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on April 18 U.S. Air Force Reserve 1st Lieutenant David T. Dinan, III, 25, of Nutley, New Jersey, was accounted for on Aug. 7, 2017, and was buried with full military honors on April 25 in Arlington National Cemetery. On March 17, 1969, Dinan was a member of the 34 th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 388 th Tactical Fighter Wing, 7 th Air Force, and was the pilot of the number two aircraft in a flight of two F-105s on a strike mission over northern Laos. During the second strafing pass over the target, Dinan transmitted a distress message. The Forward Air Controller then observed Dinan s parachute enter the jungle, as well as an aircraft crash. Search and rescue aircraft conducted an aerial search and located a parachute and confirmed the death of the pilot, however, due to enemy fire in the area and the hazardous location, his body could not be recovered. The U.S. Air Force subsequently reported Dinan as killed in action. In March 2014, a joint U.S./Lao People s Democratic Republic (LPDR) team investigated a site near Ban Khap, Xiangkoang Province, associated with Dinan s loss, recovering personal effects associated with Dinan. In June 2016, a joint U.S./LPDR team excavated the same site near Ban Khap, recovering osseous remains and material evidence. The remains were sent to DPAA for analysis. Dinan s remains were identified using DNA analysis, as well as dental and anthropological analysis, and circumstantial evidence. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on April 18 U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Lester R. Walker, 19, of Ferriday, Louisiana, was accounted for on Sept. 26, 2017, and was buried with full military honors on April 18 in Downsville, Louisiana. On Sept. 3, 1950, Walker was a member of Battery B, 82 nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, 2 nd Infantry Division, when he was declared missing in action in the vicinity of Changnyeong, South Korea, while attached to Task Force Haynes. Based on a lack of information concerning his status, the U.S. Army declared him deceased and his remains non-recoverable. Despite the efforts of the Army Graves Registration Services (AGRS) and Central Identification Unit (CIU) in Kokura, Japan, more than 800 sets of unidentified remains were buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, as Unknowns, including one set of remains designated Unknown X During the initial recovery of X-2026, the AGRS interviewed several local villagers who stated that in mid-september 1950, two U.S. prisoners were brought to their village. The prisoners reported to the villagers that they had been captured at the Naktong River near Changnyung. The witnesses recounted that the prisoners were killed by enemy forces, then buried by locals several days later. After a thorough historical and scientific analysis of information associated with X-2026, it was determined that the remains could likely be identified. After receipt of approval, the remains were disinterred from the Punchbowl on Aug. 13, 2017, and sent to the laboratory for Continued on next page 11

12 analysis. Walker s remains were identified using dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, which matched his records, as well as circumstantial evidence. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on April 18 U.S. Army Master Sergeant Finley J. Davis, 39, of Pittsburgh, accounted for on Aug. 8, 2017, and was buried with military honors on April 19 in North Charleston, South Carolina. In late 1950, Davis was a member of Company D, 2 nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, when his unit was fighting off persistent Chinese attacks in the Ch ongch on River area in northwest North Korea. The battle began on Nov. 25, 1950, when the Chinese People s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) initiated an offensive along the 8th Army front. All 8th Army units were ordered to withdraw on November 29. Davis battalion was assigned to provide security for the division. The unit was attacked again by the CPVF and Davis was reported missing in action as of Dec. 1, Several repatriated American prisoners of war reported that Davis died Camp 5. Although the U.S. Army Graves Registration Service planned to recover American remains that remained north of the Korean Demilitarized Zone after the war, administrative details between the United Nations Command and North Korea complicated recovery efforts. An agreement was made in 1954, in what was known as Operation Glory, remains were returned. However, Davis remains were not included and he was declared non-recoverable. A set of remains marked as X were processed for identification, but an association could not be made and they were returned to the United States for burial. After a thorough historical and scientific analysis, DPAA requested the exhumation of 22 unresolved individuals, including Davis. Unknown X was disinterred from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, known as the Punchbowl. Davis remains were identified using DNA analysis, as well as dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, and circumstantial evidence. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on April 9 U.S. Navy Reserve Lieutenant Junior Grade Irvin E. Rink, 25, of Wichita, Kansas, accounted for on July 10, 2017, will be buried April 16 in his hometown. On Aug. 4, 1943, Rink was a member of Fighting Squadron Twenty Seven (VF-27), when eight pilots flying F4F-4 Wildcat aircraft took off from the Russell Islands, Solomon Islands, to escort a Catalina seaplane on a mission to Enogai Inlet, New Georgia Island. As the seaplane attempted to land at Enogai Inlet, the escort aircraft were attacked by Japanese fighter planes. Following the battle, the element returned to the Russell Islands, however Rink did not return. He was reported missing in action on Aug. 4, Based on a lack of information regarding his whereabouts, he was declared deceased on Jan. 8, In March 2008, Mark Roche, an American diver, photographed an F4F-4 aircraft inverted on a reef approximately 45 feet under water off the northwest coast of New Georgia. He recovered human remains and material evidence from the wreckage and transferred them to the U.S. Consulate in Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. In February 2013, a Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (predecessor to DPAA) team traveled to the Solomon Islands where they received possible remains from the crash site. The remains were sent to the laboratory and consolidated the remains found in Rink s remains were identified using DNA analysis, which matched his family, as well as anthropological analysis, which matched Rink s records, and historical evidence. Accounted-for April 6 U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Marshall F. Kipina, missing from the Vietnam War, assigned to the 131 st Aviation Company, has now been accounted for. On July 13, 1966, Kipina was serving as an observer aboard an OV-1C aircraft, on a night surveillance mission from Phu Bai Airfield over Attapu Province, Laos People s Democratic Republic (LPDR). Visibility was poor due to heavy thunderstorms. Radar and radio contact were lost with the aircraft, which was not uncommon due to the mountainous terrain in that part of Laos. When the aircraft did not return as scheduled, search efforts were initiated, but no crash site was found. Interment services are pending. Accounted-for April 6 U.S. Air Force Colonel Peter J. Stewart, missing from the Vietnam War, a member of Headquarters, 8 th Tactical Fighter Wing, has now been accounted for. On March 15, 1966, Stewart was the pilot of a two-seater F-4C aircraft, the second in a flight of two on an armed reconnaissance mission over northern Vietnam. The lead aircraft spotted two vehicles as the flight approached the target area and Stewart responded he was going to strafe the trucks. The lead aircraft, while maneuvering to engage the targets, lost sight of Stewart s aircraft, but saw a bright orange explosion over the trucks. The flight lead immediately attempted to contact Stewart s aircraft without result. No parachutes or emergency signals were seen, and all subsequent attempts to contact Stewart and his aircraft commander were unsuccessful. An organized search was not possible due to hostilities in the area. Stewart was subsequently declared missing in action. His status was later amended to deceased. Interment services are pending. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on April 6 U.S. Air Force Colonel Roosevelt Hestle, Jr., 38, of Orlando, Florida was accounted for on June 6, 2017, and buried with full military honors on April 13, in Arlington National Cemetery. On July 6, 1966, Hestle was a pilot assigned to the 388 th Tactical Fighter Squadron, aboard the lead aircraft in a flight of four F-105s on a strike mission against surface-to-air missile sites in northern Vietnam. As they approached the target, Hestle issued a missile launch warning, and all aircraft began evasive action by diving toward the ground. As the aircraft approached the town of Thai Ngyuen, anti-aircraft began firing at them. Due to the evasive action, the other aircraft lost sight of Hestle. Crews aboard one aircraft observed a large ball rising from the ground, though no crash was observed. Contact attempts were unsuccessful and no parachutes or distress signals were seen or heard. Due to hostile conditions in the area, search and rescue attempts could not be initiated and an aerial search of the area produced no results. Based on this information, Hestle was declared missing in action. In 1995, during the 33 rd Joint Field Activity, a joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) team excavated an F-105 crash site near Binh Son Village. Several pieces of life support equipment were recovered, but no remains were recovered. In 2015, a Joint Forensic Review team received possible human remains recovered by a Vietnamese national who was farming in the area in Continued on next page 12

13 The remains were sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis. Hestle s remains were identified using DNA analysis, matching his brother, as well as anthropological analysis, matching his records and circumstantial evidence. Accounted-for April 4 U.S. Army Corporal Thomas W. Reagan, missing from the Korean War, assigned to Company A, 14th Engineer Combat Battalion, 24 th Infantry Division, was accounted for. In August 1950, Reagan participated in the defense of the 24 th Infantry Division s main supply route and the town of Yongsan in an area known as the Naktong Bulge, in South Korea. Reagan s company, an engineer unit, was overwhelmed and outmaneuvered by the Korean People s Army, and utilized as an infantry unit in an attempt to hold open the supply route. On Aug. 12, 1950, the company was able to withdraw to a safe area to account for their Soldiers. Reagan could not be accounted for and was declared missing in action. Interment services are pending. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on U.S. Army Master Sergeant George R. Housekeeper, Jr., 28, of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, accounted for on June 15, 2017, and was buried with full military honors on April 11, in Arlington National Cemetery. In late November 1950, Housekeeper was a member of Company L, 3 rd Battalion, 31 st Infantry Regiment, 7 th Infantry Division. Approximately 2,500 U.S. and 700 South Korean soldiers assembled into the 31 st Regimental Combat Team which was deployed east of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, when it was attacked by overwhelming numbers of Chinese forces. The American forces withdrew south with the Chinese attacks continuing. By December 6, the U.S. Army evacuated approximately 1,500 wounded service members; the remaining soldiers had been either captured or killed in enemy territory. Because Housekeeper could not be accounted for by his unit at the end of the battle, he was reported missing in action on Dec. 12, Housekeeper s name did not appear on any prisoner of war lists and no returning American prisoners reported Housekeeper as a prisoner of war. Due to the prolonged lack of evidence, the U.S. Army declared him deceased as of Dec. 31, In 2004, a joint recovery team conducted a Joint Recovery Operation at a burial site in the vicinity of Twikkae Village, Changjin District, South Hamgyong Province, North Korea, on the east side of the Chosin Reservoir. The site was consistent with the 31st RCT s location during its withdrawal. During the excavation, material evidence was recovered and several sets of bones. His remains were identified using DNA analysis, which matched his brother, as well as anthropological analysis, which matched his records, and circumstantial evidence. Accounted-for April 2 U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sergeant Percy C. Mathews, killed during World War II, a member of the 422 nd Bombardment Squadron, 305 th Bombardment Group, 8 th U.S. Air Force, has now been accounted for. On May 29, 1943, Mathews was participating in a strike against the German submarine base at Saint-Nazaire, France. The B-17 Mathews was aboard was hit by enemy fire as it left the target area. Mathews did not make it out of the bomber before it crashed. Survivors believed the aircraft crashed approximately 150 kilometers from Saint-Nazaire, near the French village of Quintin. German reports indicated one casualty was recovered from the wreckage of the plane, though no burial information was provided. Interment services are now pending. Accounted-for April 2 U.S. Army Sergeant Donald L. Baker, missing from the Korean War, a member of Co. H, 2 nd Battalion, 24 th Infantry Regiment, 25 th Infantry Division, has now been accounted for. Baker was reported missing in action on Sept. 6, 1950, as a result of fighting that occurred between his unit and enemy forces near Haman, South Korea. Interment services are pending. Accounted-for and Returned to Family on April 2 U.S. Marine Corps Private Edwin W. Jordan, 17, of Pittsburgh, was accounted for on Sept. 27, 2017, and buried with full military honors on April 9, in Arlington National Cemetery. In 1943, Jordan was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, but the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Jordan died on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, In the immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island. In 1946 and 1947, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio Island, but Jordan s remains were not recovered. On Feb. 28, 1949, a military review board declared Jordan s remains non-recoverable. In July 2017, through a partnership with History Flight, Inc., DPAA used advanced investigative techniques to locate further areas believed to contain the remains of men buried on Tarawa. The recovered remains were sent to the laboratory for analysis. Jordan s remains were identified using dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, which matched his records, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. 13

14 VETS4WARRIORS Partners with NJ-2 22 Too Many Accounted-for in April U.S. Navy Seaman 1st Class Robert V. Young; U.S. Navy Seaman 2nd Class Bernard V. Doyle; and U.S. Navy Seaman 1st Class Walter C. Foley, were all accounted for on April 2; U.S. Navy Steward Mate 1st Class Ignacio C. Farfan, was accounted for on April 11; U.S. Navy Seaman 1st Class William G. Bruesewitz; U.S. Navy Fireman 2 nd Class John D. Wheeler, 26, of Gaither, Arkansas, was accounted for on Aug. 14, 2017, and was buried with full military honors on April 28 in Harrison, Arkansas; U.S. Navy Seaman 2nd Class Joe M. Kelley, was accounted for on April 18; U.S. Navy Seaman 2 nd Class Frank Wood, 25, of Jackson, Ohio, was accounted for on Aug. 28, 2017, and buried with full military honors on April 14 in Franklin, North Carolina; U.S. Navy Water Tender 1st Class Stephen Pepe, was accounted for on April 25; U.S. Navy Aviation Machinist's Mate 2nd Class Durell Wade, was accounted for on April 23;. On Dec. 7, 1941, the battleship USS Oklahoma, was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Wood. From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu uanu Cemeteries. In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as nonrecoverable, including Wood. In April 2015, the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a policy memorandum directing the disinterment of unknowns associated with the USS Oklahoma. On June 15, 2015, DPAA personnel began exhuming the remains from the NMCP. To identify the sailor s remains, scientists used DNA analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence and laboratory analysis, to include dental comparisons and (left to right) Major General Mark Graham, USA, retired, Executive Director of VET4Warriors met with Rolling Thunder NJ-2 President Charlie Webster, Rolling Thunder NJ-2 Chairman of the Board Brenda Einhorn, and Rolling Thunder National member Lucy Walsh to discuss their respective efforts to combat the epidemic of veterans' suicides. By Charlie Webster PARSIPPANY Vets4Warriors, a national crisis hotline dedicated to providing veterans with a critical outlet for their specific needs is the latest not-for-profit organization to gain our support in our combined efforts to tackle the deadly issue of veteran suicide. Vets4Warriors, located on the campus of Rutgers University s Behavioral Heath Center, is a national program that provides crisis intervention services for all era veterans of every service branch. Current statistics show Vets4Warriors averages more than 1,400 contacts with veterans each week that s an average of 200 contacts each and every day. The Top 5 reasons veterans are calling: 1) Anxiety; 2) Relationship issues; 3) Depression; 4) Isolation or Loneliness; and 5) Post- Traumatic Stress. BRUESEWITZ KELLEY KELLEY A meeting that included Major General Mark Graham, USA, retired, Executive Director of VET4Warriors; Rolling Thunder NJ-2 President Charlie Webster; Rolling Thunder NJ-2 Chairman of the Board Brenda Einhorn; and Rolling Thunder National member Lucy Walsh focused on their respective efforts to combat the epidemic of veterans' suicides. The meeting was followed by a tour of the facility and its massive call center. Vets4Warriors is the overwhelming presence inside the call center it shares with other call centers for Cop4Cop, Mom4Mom, and others. The interesting factor inside the call center is the other call centers are regularly used to fill in during times of heavy volume. WADE WOOD WHEELER The meeting concluded with an agreement for cooperation in getting the word out about the services provided by Vets4Warriors, its website Vets4Warriors.com and its crisis hotline number

15 TRENTON AIRMAN RETURNED TO FAMILY FOR BURIAL IN ARLINGTON Scenes from the funeral of US Army Air Corps 1st Lt. Frank Fazekas, of Trenton, a pilot with the 22nd Fighter Squadron, 36th Fighter Group. Lt. Fazekas was lost when returning from a mission over northern France and his P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft came under enemy fire. Lt. Fazekas was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery on March 27. The service was held at the Old Post Chapel on March 27. The funeral was attended by more than 60 people, including the Fazekas family. 1st Lt. Frank Fazekas US Army Air Corps (ABOVE) Frank Fazekas, Jr. receives the US flag from his father s coffin following services at Arlington National cemetery on March 27. His father, US Army Air Corps 1st Lt. Frank Fazekas, a pilot with the 22nd Fighter Squadron, 36th Fighter Group, was lost when he was returning from a mission over northern France and his P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft came under enemy fire. (Photos courtesy of DPAA) 15

16 NOT FORGOTTEN: FINAL SALUTE FOR NUTLEY USAF PILOT KILLED DURING VIETNAM WAR By Chuck Prichard DPAA ARLINGTON, Va, April 27, 2018 As a misty rain fell through a thin layer of fog on the morning of April 25, 2018, a group of about 100 family members and friends huddled in Arlington National Cemetery beside the coffin of Air Force Reserve 1st Lt. David T. Dinan III. Along with a U.S. Air Force band, honor guard and rifle squad rendering honors for Lt. Dinan, a lone Airman stood holding a staff from which a black POW/MIA flag waved in the breeze. The words You Are Not Forgotten flashed as the flag furled and unfurled at the whim of the wind, providing a visual reminder that many people did not forget Lt. Dinan after his single-seat F-105 Thunderchief bomber was shot down over Laos on March 17, Retired Air Force Col. Edward Sykes was one of the people who did not forget. In 1969, Sykes, then also an Air Force lieutenant and F-105 pilot, was Lt. Dinan s roommate at the Thailand air base that was home to the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 388th Tactical Fighter Wing, 7th Air Force. Sykes had only known Lt. Dinan a short time before learning that his roommate had been shot down and lost. Lt. Dinan was not lost immediately after his plane went down. Other U.S. service members in the area observed that he was able to eject from the aircraft and saw his parachute deploy. An aerial search and rescue helicopter team was sent to locate him. They found a parachute and were able to lower down a pararescueman commonly called a PJ using a steel cable hoist. The PJ found Lt. Dinan and confirmed that he was dead, apparently killed in a fall after his parachute was shredded by trees and he tumbled down a hillside. Enemy fire and the hazardous conditions of the location made recovery of Lt. Dinan s body impossible at that time. (ABOVE) U.S. Air Force Colonel (retired) Edward Sykes leads a brothers salute during a funeral service held for U.S. Air Force Reserve 1st Lt. David T. Dinan, III, on April 25, 2018 at Arlington National Cemetery. (DPAA photos by Lee O. Tucker) Sykes was appointed to serve as Lt. Dinan s summary courts officer, meaning that Sykes was responsible for gathering up the belongings his roommate left behind and seeing that they were properly transferred. Sykes performed those duties and then went on to other missions, eventually completing a long Air Force career, retiring at the rank of colonel. Through all of those years, Sykes never forgot Lt. Dinan. But the circumstances of his former roommate s loss came to the forefront of his mind in 2009 when the now-retired Col. Sykes visited the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. He saw a list of missing that showed Lt. Dinan s status as body not recovered and resolved to do something about it. Unbeknown to Sykes, during the 40 years between Lt. Dinan s loss and 2009, staff members of predecessor accounting organizations that ultimately formed the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) had also not forgotten Lt. Dinan. Working with Lao authorities, those organizations had conducted several investigation missions to find witnesses and other information in the area around where Lt. Dinan was lost. Each successive mission seemed to point them closer to finding Lt. Dinan s remains and bringing him home. When Sykes managed to track down members of the Dinan family in 2009, he learned of the official Department of Defense efforts to find his former roommate and offered his help to what was then known as the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC). Sykes also took personal trips to Laos in hopes of gathering useful information for Lt. Dinan s case. JPAC also conducted additional field investigations in 2010 and 2011 that yielded some good information on the case. But none of these efforts could pinpoint the possible location of Lt. Dinan s remains. In 2013, Sykes suggested that JPAC investigators try to find the PJ who had initially found Lt. Dinan s body immediately after the incident. Working with veterans organizations, the JPAC staff was able to locate former Air Force Staff Sgt. Leland Sorensen, the PJ who was lowered from a helicopter to look for Lt. Dinan after the crash. After interviewing Sorensen, JPAC officials decided the best way to tap into his memory was to take him back to that hillside in Laos and see if he could remember the spot where he had seen Lt. Dinan s body. In March, 2014, Sorenson accompanied a JPAC team on a field investigation with Lao authorities as they canvassed villages believed to be in the general vicinity of the crash site. Sorensen had not forgotten what he experienced on that St. Patrick s Day in Villagers who later found a parachute and other American items a few days after the crash also did not forget. They passed along to their relatives accounts of how they cut down a tree to retrieve the parachute. With the information provided by Sorensen s recollections and directions offered by the villagers, the investigation team homed in on a spot along the hillside. The team surveyed the area around the spot and found some promising evidence, to include equipment from Lt. Dinan s plane and some of his personal items. But the search did not find any possible human remains. In June, 2016, an excavation team from the newly-formed DPAA returned to the area that Continued on next page 16

17 FAMILY RECEIVES NUTLEY MIA FOR BURIAL IN ARLINGTON CEMETERY had yielded the promising evidence two years before. They found material that was possibly human remains and delivered that material to the DPAA forensic laboratory in Hawaii for analysis. On August 7, 2017, a DPAA medical examiner team looked through a file of documents and noted that the body of evidence compiled from nine investigations and one recovery mission was compelling. The file contained circumstantial, material and forensic evidence, including DNA analysis conducted by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System. After considering all of the information presented, the medical examiners signed a document that declared the human remains found at the site in Laos to be those of Lt. Dinan. That declaration resulted in the funeral service, where Sykes addressed those gathered in the Old Chapel at Joint Base Myer Henderson Hall and led a brothers salute for his former roommate. He began by asking Lt. Dinan s two natural brothers Charles and John to stand. Then he invited Lt. Dinan s brothers-in-arms, fellow members of the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron, to rise. Five men responded. And lastly Sykes invited to stand a man he introduced as a member of the search and rescue team aboard that Jolly Green Giant. With that, Sorensen also rose to his feet. Sykes called the group to attention and present arms. While the band of brothers held their salutes, Sykes uttered words more than 49 years in the making. We missed you, David. Welcome home brother. (ABOVE) A U.S. Air Force officer hands the flag that draped the coffin of Air Force Reserve 1st Lt. David T. Dinan, III, to the brother of the recovered pilot on April 25, 2018 at Arlington National Cemetery. (LEFT) A member of a U.S. Air Force honor guard team holds the POW/MIA flag during a funeral service held for Air Force Reserve 1st Lt. David T. Dinan, III, on April 25, 2018 at Arlington National Cemetery. (DPAA photo by Lee Tucker) 17

18 FREEDOM ROCKS THE FARM (ABOVE) Rocky Lynne jamming with his band during his concert at New Freedom Farm for the Freedom Rocks Festival in April. 18

19 The End of An Era: Lou & Iris are Moving to Volunteer State (ABOVE LEFT) Longtime Chapter Secretary Iris Amoriello (left) shares a laugh with newly appointed Chapter Secretary Diana Kinder Conklin (right) back in 2012 at the Baker-Spakowski Poker Run at the Pemberton American Legion Post. (ABOVE RIGHT) Longtime Rolling Thunder NJ-2 President Lou Amoriello on the stage at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Vietnam Era Museum & Educational Center in Holmdel for the 2012 Ride for Freedom. Lou has been an integral part of the planning and organization of the Ride for Freedom in New Jersey, and has made the event one of the most successful in the country. Lou has been the keystone of the event for the past 13 years and is now passing the torch so he and his wife iris can relocate to Tennessee in May. Lou and Iris are a part of the fabric of NJ-2 and here are just some highlights and moments of their lasting impression on the organization, but more importantly our lives. 19

20 (left to right) Buffalo Soldiers MC President and Business Manager, RT NJ-4 President Garry Gadikian and RT NJ-2 VP Charlie Webster at American Legion Post 348 in Brick Township for the official transfer of the POW/MIA flag on its journey across New Jersey. Chapter Carries Touring POW-MIA Flag Thru NJ Last month the POW/MIA flag on a 50-State Tour made its way through the Garden State and NJ-2 was a part of the journey. Rolling Thunder NJ-4 President Garry Gadikian received the flag from the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club at the Pic-A-Lilli Inn in Shamong to make New Jersey the 37 th state to receive the POW-MIA on its journey. Gadikian carried the flag to the American Legion Post 348 in Brick Township, where the flag was handed over to NJ-2 Vice President Charlie Webster, who was accompanied by NJ-2 Treasurer Steve Farrell and Board Member Charlie Amiano and several members of Rolling Thunder National. The POW/MIA flag is traveling through all 50 states to bring attention to the more than 83,000 American service members who are unaccounted for since World War II. New Jersey was the 37 th state to host the flag. The flag is expected to be returned to Grundy, Virginia before the May 18, 2018 Blessing of the Bikes. VP Webster carried the flag up to Staten Island, New York where he handed the flag over to Rolling Thunder NY-2 President Michael Rock n Roll Garguilo and Rolling Thunder NY-6 President William Byrne who were tasked with moving the flag through the Empire State and into the New England states. Bryne escorted the flag to the U.S. Naval Base at Groton, Connecticut on March 20, Where it was hoisted over the U.S.S. Nautilus before continuing its journey. The flag is accompanied by a registry book for people to sign at each location. The book and the flag are expected to be donated to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC following the Bike Blessing event in May. (left to right) RT NJ-4 President Garry Gadikian, RT NJ-2 VP Charlie Webster, RT NJ-4 Rich Chivarou, RT NJ-2 Board Member Charlie Amiano, RT NJ-2 Treasurer Steve Farrell and RT National Member Joe Fellion at American Legion Post 348 in Brick Township for the official transfer of the POW/MIA flag on its journey across New Jersey. 20

21 21

22 22

23 23

24 24

25 25

26 26

27 27

28 28