Cumberland County Servicemen Who Died in Vietnam

The following list of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania servicemen who died in Vietnam appears in alphabetical order and was compiled from official and non-official sources. For the purpose of this study a “Cumberland County” servicemen is defined as a person who met at least one of the following criteria: Born in Cumberland County, held residence in the county for at least four years, excluding time spent at any of the county's three schools of higher learning (Messiah, Dickinson, and Shippensburg), or a graduate of a Cumberland County high school regardless of years of residence. Other slain servicemen not fitting this selection criteria are listed in the section of this brochure entitled, “Associated Cumberland County Dead.”

Watch a presentation by Wayne Motts on the Cumberland County, PA Serviceman Who Died in Vietnam as a part of the 2003 CCHS Vietnam exhibit. The program was transferred from VHS.

Robert Lee Adams, Jr.:
Born in Carlisle, Adams graduated from Carlisle Senior High School with the class of 1961. Joining the United States Army on September 18 of that year, he was an enlisted soldier in the infantry until selected for officer candidate school in 1965. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry on 14 April 1966, and was sent to Vietnam in October of the same year. He was killed in action on 4 November 1966, as a platoon leader in Company C, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment. At the time of his death he was 23 years old, married, and the father of a three year old son.

Harold Eugene Barrick:
Harold was born in Carlisle but was a resident of Newville. He graduated from Big Spring High School in 1965 and went to work shortly thereafter at Reeves-Hoffman crystal facility until he was drafted into the army on 11 August 1967. Arriving in Vietnam in January 1968, he was killed in action on 8 April 1968, while serving as an ammo handler for the Service Battery, 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery. Age 20 at the time of his death, he was married with no children.

John Leroy Carey:
A resident of nearby Gardners, John attended South Middleton schools and then graduated from Carlisle High School in 1966. Entering the service as a member of the United States Marine Corps on 18 October 1966, Carey served at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Camp Pendleton, California, and arrived in Vietnam on 1 February 1968. He was assigned as a rifleman in Company C, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment. Twelve days later, he was killed while on patrol.

David Warrington Casey:
A native of Carlisle, Casey was the son of Ralph F. and Catherine Black Casey. He attended Carlisle Senior High School as a member of the class of 1965, but left school early to enter the army in February of that year. A squad leader with Company B, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, assigned to the Central Highlands of South Vietnam, he died when his unit was ambushed by communist forces on the morning of 18 May 1968. Casey was married with no children. He was 21 years old at the time of his death.

James Wallace Cramer
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Cramer resided in Camp Hill with his mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Cramer. Completing his secondary education as a member of the 1965 class at Cedar Cliff High School, he went one year to Penn State University York Campus before leaving college to accept a position at Bethlehem Steel Corporation. Drafted into the United States Army on 4 May 1967, he arrived in South Vietnam at the end of January 1968 as a light weapons infantryman. He was a squad leader in Company B, 2nd Battalion, 8th United States Cavalry Regiment. He died on 27 September 1968, from wounds inflicted by a booby trap device. Cramer was 21 years of age and single.

Jeffrey Jay David
Like James W. Cramer, Jeffrey David lived in Camp Hill and was a 1965 graduate of Cedar Cliff High School. An employee for the State of Pennsylvania Highway Department for a short time after his graduation, David enlisted in the Marine Corps on 29 April 1966, and reported to duty to Vietnam in January 1967. As a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, he was killed instantly by a burst of gunfire which struck him in the chest on 27 June 1967, outside Khe Sanh. A month shy of his 20th birthday, he was laid to rest in the Gettysburg National Cemetery.

Stephen Winfield Davis
The son of Brigadier General Franklin M. Davis, Stephen came to Carlisle around 1960 when his father was assigned to the faculty of Carlisle Barracks. He graduated from Carlisle High School with the class of 1961 and then entered military college at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. After his graduation from this school in 1966, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and entered the army as an infantry officer. He volunteered for duty in Vietnam and arrived in county on 22 May 1967. A platoon leader in Company C, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry (Airborne) Regiment, he was killed in action on 18 August 1967. He was interred in Arlington National Cemetery.

Kenneth Lee Devor
A native of Walnut Bottom, Kenny was the eldest son of Samuel “Pete” and Elizabeth Catherine Morgan Devor. He attended local schools and graduated from Big Spring High School in 1966. Drafted into the army six months later, he took his basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and further training at Fort Polk, Louisiana. He departed for Vietnam in May 1967. As a gunner on an armored cavalry vehicle, Kenny spent much of his time in southern Vietnam near the Cambodian border with Troop C, 3rd Squadron, 4th United States Cavalry Regiment. He died on 10 February 1968, in Operation Saratoga when his armored vehicle was struck by a communist rocket. His remains were interred in Spring Hill Cemetery in Shippensburg near those of several other soldiers in this study.

Paul Earl Fought, Jr.
A member of the headquarters company of the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fought lived in Mechanicsburg before joining the military in February 1968. He was a radio and telephone operator at Dak To, Republic of Vietnam. He died on 20 October 1968, and was laid to rest in Rolling Green Memorial Gardens, Camp Hill, PA. He was 19 years old when he died.

Ralph David Hale, II
Born in Harrisburg, Hale was a native of New Cumberland and attended Cedar Cliff High School, graduating with the class of 1963. He matriculated as a student at the Shippensburg State Teachers College but left his sophomore year in 1965, to join the United States Navy. Trained as a navy corpsman, he was assigned as a navy medic on the inland waters of South Vietnam with Advisory Team 63. Hale was killed in action on 9 December 1967, when the boat in which he was riding was ambushed by communist forces. His remains were laid to rest in Mount Olivet Cemetery, in New Cumberland.

Courtney Price Hollar, Jr.
The oldest and first Cumberland County Serviceman to die during America's war in Vietnam, Hollar was a native of Shippensburg. Born on 1 December 1919, he graduated from Shippensburg High School in 1937 and at the outbreak of World War II was drafted into military service. Deciding thereafter to make the military his career, he was one of the county's most decorated soldiers. He served in Italy where in a battle on 8 January 1944, he was recommended for and received the Silver Star, the nation's third highest decoration for gallantry under fire. After the war, he returned to the United States and subsequently served in Korea. As a major with Advisory Team 95 under the Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV), Hollar died on 5 May 1964, while on board an aircraft that developed engine trouble and crashed. Nine other Americans and five Vietnamese soldiers died in the accident. He was twice married and was the father of one daughter and one son.

Jerry Ray Langley
A Camp Hill resident, Langley was a light wheel vehicle mechanic assigned to the 556th Transportation Company, of the 64th Quartermaster Battalion. He was killed in an accident at the laundry facility at Thu Duc when an M-16 Rifle discharged while he was moving the weapon from one side of his truck to another. Langley was married to the former Judy Reedy and the couple had one son at the time of his death, named David Lee. He is buried in Ashland Cemetery, Carlisle.

Carl Robert Leed
Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on 18 January 1935, Leed attended John Harris High School in Harrisburg and later established residence in West Fairview, Cumberland County. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps just a month after his 17th birthday. A combat veteran of the Korean War, he reenlisted in the Marine reserves and worked as a welder for National Radiator in Middletown, PA. He then transferred to active duty and spent a tour of duty in Vietnam in 1964 and volunteered for a second tour in 1967. A member of Company C, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, he died on 29 February 1968, during a mortar attack on a hill overlooking the city of Hue during the Tet Offensive.

Dennis Ray Lehman
The son of Donald E. and Mary Lehman, Dennis was born in Newville and graduated from Big Spring High School in 1964. After finishing school, he was employed briefly at Anthony's Furniture in Newville as a truck driver. He was drafted into the army on 10 December 1965, and after basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina he was assigned as a truck driver in the 87th Transportation Company, first at Fort Lewis, Washington State, and then in Vietnam. He was killed in action on 21 November 1966, when his convoy was ambushed by communist forces near the village of Xuan Loc. He had previously married the former Geraldine E. Sanno and at the time of his death she was pregnant with the couple's first child. She gave birth to Dennis J. Lehman on 27 January 1967. Today Dennis Ray Lehman is interred in Westminster Memorial Gardens in Carlisle.

Gary Lee Lininger
One of twin sons born to Woodrow W. and Mildred McCleary Lininger, Gary and his twin brother Larry were residents of Shippensburg. After attending Shippensburg High School, Gary enlisted in the army on 10 March 1965, and completed his secondary education while in the service. Both brothers volunteered for combat duty in Vietnam and signed waivers in order to serve there at the same time. Gary was assigned to Company C, 3rd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment with the 4th Infantry Division west of Saigon. He was killed in action on 16 January 1967, by small arms fire after being injured by an enemy mine explosion, when he volunteered to come to the aid of a group of American soldiers under attack. He was 19.

Carl Frederick Lybrand
Born on 7 July 1949, Carl lived in Gardners and was the son of Norman D. and Joyce Bream Lybrand. A member of the 1967 Carlisle High School class, he entered the army on 4 December 1967, and after completing his basic training and military schooling was assigned for a period in Germany before arriving in Vietnam in March 1969. Stationed at Landing Zone Max near Duc Pho, Lybrand served as a construction equipment repairman with the 13th Engineer Company of the 19th Engineer Battalion. He died on 24 May 1969, from wounds received by an accidental grenade explosion. He was 19 years old.

John Ernest Marpo
A career soldier, Marpo was born in Shippensburg and later lived in Boiling Springs. Entering the army in 1955, he was trained as a medic and stationed both in the United States and abroad before beginning a tour in Vietnam in March 1965. With barely a month left in country, he was killed in action 23 February 1969, as a member of the 25th Medical Battalion in the 25th Infantry Division. He was married with three children.

Paul Vincent McHenry
The son and nephew of career military officers, Paul was born on 21 October 1946, in Philadelphia. Reared in Lower Allen Township, McHenry graduated from high school and then attended St. Leo College in Florida, before leaving after two years to join the Marine Corps. A forward observer for 81 MM mortars, he was a member of the Headquarters and Service Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment. He died on 15 June 1968, in a battle near Khe Sanh in Operation Scotland II. Unmarried at the time of his death, he was 21.

Joseph John Meyer, Jr.
The son of Joseph J. and Jean V. Meyer, he was born in Somerset, Pennsylvania but grew up in Mechanicsburg. Drafted into the Marine Corps on 7 December 1968, he took his recruit training at Parris Island South Carolina and began his tour in Vietnam 11 June 1969. Part of the Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, he was killed in action on 4 July 1969 during his first military operation. He was 20.

Wayne Eugene Monismith
A graduate of Boiling Springs High School in 1965, Wayne was the son of Raymond L. and Ethel McClintock Monismith. After graduation, he worked locally for the Bedford Shoe Company before being drafted into the army on 11 August 1967. He trained at Fort Benning, Georgia and at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Arriving in Vietnam in early January 1968, he was a truck driver with the Service Battery, 5th Battalion. 27th Field Artillery. Responsible for transporting much- needed artillery ammunition to his unit, Monismith was killed in action on 17 September 1968. Just 20 years old at the time of his death, his remains were interred at Mount Zion Cemetery in Churchtown, Pennsylvania.

William Henry Morris, Jr.
Born in Harrisburg, Morris graduated from Mechanicsburg High School in 1963. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, but left to take a job with US Steel. He entered the army in August 1965 and was selected for officers candidate school in April 1967. As a captain, Morris served in Vietnam with the 5th Special Forces Group and was killed during an aerial reconnaissance mission on 9 October 1969. He was 24, married with two children.

Ricky Lee Null
Born on 5 March 1949, Null resided in Lemoyne. Enlisting in the United States Army on 11 May 1967, he trained both at Fort Knox, Kentucky as well as Fort McClellan, Alabama. Reporting to Vietnam the latter part of March 1968, Null was a light weapons infantryman in Company B, 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry Regiment. He was killed on 20 April 1968, as a result of fragmentation wounds. At the time of his death he was 19 years old and single.

Myron McClelland Pfoutz
A native of Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, he gradated from high school there and entered the field of broadcast journalism where he worked both in Northern Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Moving to New Cumberland in 1959, he took a job with WHTP-TV and WHP Radio. An army reservist since 1953, he went on active duty in early June 1964 to be trained as a helicopter pilot. A member of the 118th Aviation Company, he died on 28 May 1965, when the helicopter he was piloting collided with another helicopter, killing all but one person on both crafts. He was 33.

Gary Lee Ream
Because Gary was the smallest of six children born to Lois Knoche Ream, he was called by his family “Peanut.” A member of the 1964 class at Carlisle High School, he enlisted in the Marine Corps with classmate Edward J. Rykoskey. Both men would never return from Vietnam. Assigned as a Marine Rifleman in Company C, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Ream was killed in action while acting as a point man on patrol. His action saved the lives of ten other men who avoided an ambush because of his sacrifice. He rests today in Ashland Cemetery, Carlisle. Unmarried, he was 20 years old at the time of his death.

Erik Niles Rudziak
An engineer fireman in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War, Rudziak was the son of a career military officer. Born in Germany on 28 April 1949, he spent much of his formative years at various military posts both in the United States and abroad. Nicholas Rudziak, the boy's father, graduated from the US Army War College in 1966 and while he served in Vietnam his family resided in Carlisle. Erik graduated from Carlisle High School in 1967 and joined the navy less than two months later. Shipping to Vietnam in August 1968, he reported for duty as a crewmember on board the Yard Freight Utility (YFU)-62, a naval vessel which transported cargo to various military installations located on the coast of Vietnam. On 16 January 1969, his boat struck a mine on the Cua Viet River; the explosion killed Rudziak and seven other sailors. The 19 year old is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Edward Jay Rykoskey
The only servicemen from Cumberland County whose remains were not accounted for, Edward Rykoskey was the son of Edward and Mary Rykoskey of Carlisle. Ed finished his schooling at Carlisle High School in 1964 and enlisted in the Marine Corps with his friend George Thompson on a “buddy” system program. Completing basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina, Rykoskey went to Vietnam as a member of Company C, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion and served in the area around Da Nang. On 18 August 1966, as a radio man on a four man patrol in Vietnam's Dai Loc Mountains, southwest of the city, Rykoskey was struck down by automatic weapons fire. His team attempted to extract him from the battle zone but because of the combat situation could not do so. The next morning a large scale search for Rykoskey's body was implemented. Dubbed “Operation Allegheny,” this sweep of the area retraced the route of the patrol but found no sign of Ed. The operation was terminated ten days later.

Larry Gordon Sandnes
The son of Arnold G. and Gail H. Sandnes of New Cumberland, Larry went to Valley Forge Military Academy and then graduated from Cedar Cliff High School in 1966. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in September 1967 and was sent to Vietnam the following February. He was shot and killed in Quang Nam Province on 8 December 1968, while on a military mission.

James Ralph Snyder
A native of Lynchburg, Virginia, Snyder was a resident of New Cumberland for six years prior to his death. A four year veteran of the United States Marine Corps, after his discharge he joined the army and served in Vietnam with the Headquarters Company, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment. He was killed in action on 27 June 1967, by the explosion of a land mine. He was 27 years old at the time of his death and married with no children.

Thomas Thoma Sprinkle
A native of Mechanicsburg, he graduated from Mechanicsburg High School with the class of 1964. He enrolled at the Harrisburg Area Community College and attended school there for two years before being drafted into the army in July 1967. Sent to Vietnam in early December of that year, he reported to E Co 52 Infantry (Rangers) 1st Cavalry Division. He was killed in action on 7 July 1968.

Derwood D. Steigleman, Jr.
Reared by his paternal grandparents in Carlisle, Derwood left high school at a young age to join the army. He earned his high school diploma while in the military. Stationed for a time in Japan, he met and married his wife Toshika there in 1962. Reporting for duty in Vietnam in May 1966, he served with Company C, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry (Airborne) Regiment, a sub-unit of the famed 101st Airborne Division, the “Screaming Eagles.” Initially posted as missing, it was discovered he was killed in action on 10 June 1966, in a battle against the 24th North Vietnamese Infantry Division.

Richard Hause Sweger
Born on 19 September 1927, Sweger graduated with the Class of 1945 at Lemoyne High School. Married to Lucie Sweger nine years prior to his death, Sweger was the father of four children. He died from injuries sustained during an air transport accident on 2 January 1969. He served in the chemical section of the headquarters company of the division headquarters of the Americal (23rd) Division.

Donald Leroy Thomas
The son of Lydia Mae and John Thomas of Shippensburg, Donald attended schools locally and joined the Marine Corps in May 1966. A rifleman with Company H, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Thomas was mortally wounded on 6 August 1967, while on Operation Freemont in the area around Phu Bai. He died the same day. He was laid to rest in Spring Hill Cemetery, Shippensburg, PA.

Gregory Brian Whitmore
Born 10 June 1948 in Germany, while his father, a career soldier, was stationed there, Gregory was the son of Shirley H. and Marjorie Maloney Whitmore of Camp Hill. Attending high school in Camp Hill, he was drafted into the army in 1966 and went to Vietnam in December 1967. As a soldier in Company C, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, he died in action on 4 August 1968, at the age of 20.

Wayne Leroy Yinger, Jr.
A Mechanicsburg native, Yinger graduated from high school there in 1967 and then was drafted into the army. He served with Company D, 3rd Battalion, 23rd Infantry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade in Vietnam. In country a little over five months, he was slain on 27 May 1970.

Associated Cumberland County Dead

The following is an alphabetical list of names of servicemen often affiliated with Cumberland County but perhaps did not reside in Cumberland County. In some cases it was discovered that these individuals had no discernible connection to the county.

Drew James Barrett III
With a home of record listed as Carlisle, Barrett was the son of Colonel Drew James Barrett, Jr., a faculty member of the US Army War College. Born in Denver, Colorado on 3 January 1945, Barrett went to Duke University and entered the Marines while his father was on duty at Carlisle. A platoon leader in Company K, 3rd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, Barrett was mortally wounded in battle on 27 February 1969. He died 9 March 1969, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Glen Dean Belnap
Born in Ogden, Utah on 18 January 1923, Glen Belnap was a professional soldier having joined the United States Army during World War II. After his graduation from the US Amy War College in 1967, he was assigned to duty in Vietnam as the commanding officer of the 3rd Battalion, 8th United States Infantry Regiment. While assigned to Southeast Asia his home address was in Carlisle, where his wife Jean and three sons resided. He died on 20 December 1967, and was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery.

Richard Klemm Boyd, Jr.
Born on 9 April 1938, at Fort Benning Georgia, Richard was the son of Colonel Richard Klemm Boyd, USA. A graduate of the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts in 1956, he was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point the same year graduating in 1960. Despite the fact that his home of record is sometimes listed as Carlisle and other times as West Point, he only spent time in Cumberland County when his father was assigned to the US Army War College. Young Boyd was on his second tour of duty in Vietnam when he died on 26 October 1967, in Operation Wheeler. At the time of his death he was the company commander for Company B, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry (Airborne) Regiment.

John Stephen Chirn
Processing into military service at New Cumberland, his official home of record, Chirn was actually a native of Lebanon County. Born in the county seat there on 24 June 1949, he went to high school at Lebanon Catholic, where he graduated in 1967. Joining the army in 1970, he was a member of the 57th Medical Detachment where he served as a medical evacuation pilot. He died on 13 October 1971, when the helicopter he was in crashed into a mountainside while on a mission. He is buried in his native Lebanon.

Dana Edward Diehl
According to Diehl's niece, Shirley Mogerman of Shippensburg, he was a native of Franklin County residing during his youth on Orrstown Road. Born in Chambersburg, Franklin County, on 31 October 1947, Diehl was the son of Norman and Margaret Diehl. Graduating from Shippensburg High School in 1967, he was drafted into the army on 15 March 1968, and sent to Vietnam in late August of that year. Diehl died when the vehicle in which he was riding struck a communist land mine on 10 December 1968. While in Vietnam, he was part of Troop H, 3rd Squadron, 4th US Cavalry Regiment. He was just 21 years old at the time of his death.

Emmett Leroy Dressler
The actual home of this soldier remains a mystery. Born on 24 August 1938, Dressler's place of birth and entry into the army are both listed as Millerstown, Pennsylvania on his military service record. According to the Pennsylvania Atlas and Gazetteer, there are four towns named Millerstown in Pennsylvania. No record of Dressler can be found in any of these places. His home of residence is listed as Carlisle yet no obituary appears for him in the paper, nor did he serve at Carlisle Barracks during his ten year army career. What is known is that Dressler joined the army in 1955, and was killed in action on 17 November 1965, while a member of Troop B, 1st Squadron, 4th US Cavalry Regiment.

John Bernard Gingery
According to his widow, Yvonne Gingery Rose, John was born in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania on 10 October 1941. He joined the Marine Corps in 1958, and after his discharge from that branch of the service, he re-enlisted in 1961, this time in the army. His home of record for some reason is listed as Carlisle, despite the fact that he was not stationed at Carlisle Barracks. He served in the artillery and infantry both in Europe and in the United States before shipping to Vietnam in December 1967. Previously wounded in combat, Gingery was killed in action by a gunshot wound to his stomach on 28 April 1968, while a squad leader in Company D, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry (Airborne) Regiment. His residence at the time was Lewisberry, York County, Pennsylvania. He is buried there.

William Allen Gleixner
The son of Levi and Thea Glexiner, William may have resided in Monroe Township, Cumberland County for a period of time. He graduated, however, from Northern High School in Dillsburg, York County with the class of 1965 and worked in Dillsburg at Harbold's Ford as an automobile mechanic. He was drafted into the army and sent to Vietnam in March 1967, where he was a helicopter mechanic with the 408th Transportation Detachment at Lai Khe. A support soldier for the 173rd Aviation Company, Gleixner died when his base camp was struck by mortar fire on 22 February 1968.

Charles Elbert Long
While this soldier's home of record is listed as Harrisburg, Long's family moved from the capital to Lemoyne in March 1969, while he was in the service. His home of record therefore was Lemoyne from March until September 1969 when he was killed in action as a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment

Neal Wallace Lovsnes, Jr.
Born in Brainerd, Minnesota on 1 December 1938, Neal was a 1960 graduate of Dickinson College. While at the school, he was active in ROTC and upon his graduation was commissioned a second lieutenant in the army. During his military career of eight years, Lovsnes was an artillery officer stationed both in the United States and aboard. As a major, he reported to duty in Vietnam in the fall of 1968 with the 101st Airborne Division He died on 15 April 1969, when the helicopter in which he was riding struck a tree and exploded while on a mission. He was 30 years old.

Richard Scott McFarland
The son of a military officer stationed at Carlisle Barracks, McFarland enrolled as a student at Dickinson College in the fall of 1967 but left the institution after just a year to enter the army. Trained as an army medic, he was part of the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam. On 9 November 1969, while serving with a Green Beret advisory force to the South Vietnam Army, McFarland died in battle attempting to aid the wounded.

Ronald Eugene Newell
A native of Shippensburg, Newell's family home was in Franklin County. Born on 6 November 1948, he attended Shippensburg High School and worked locally. Drafted into the army in June 1968, he was sent to Vietnam in the fall of that year and became a gunner on a armored cavalry vehicle with Troop B, 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment. He died on 7 July 1969, when his night position came under enemy attack. In the ensuing firefight, Newell worked his machine gun until he was killed by an enemy explosive charge.

James Birch Petteys
While often associated with Cumberland County, Petteys, according to his brother, was a resident of Shippensburg, Franklin County. After his graduation from Shippensburg High School , James entered the army and became a helicopter pilot. Reporting to duty in Vietnam in the late summer of 1968, Petteys was assigned to Troop C, 7th Squadron, 17 Cavalry Regiment. He perished when his Cobra Gunship was shot down on 15 January 1969.

Robert J. Piatkowski
Listed on the memorial plaque at the Bosler Library, his official home town of record is listed as Philadelphia. There was no connection found with this soldier to Cumberland County. No notice of his death appears in the Carlisle Evening Sentinel. Drafted into the army, he died 26 March 1968, as an infantryman with Company B, 4th Battalion, 39th infantry Regiment.

John Louis Reagle
With a hometown of record listed as Centerville,* Pennsylvania, no connection with Cumberland County can be found for this soldier. According to the Pennsylvania Atlas and Gazetteer there are ten places with the name Centerville in the state. Reagle is listed on a memorial for Vietnam War dead in Washington County, Pennsylvania. In Vietnam, Reagle was part of Company A, 15th Engineer Battalion of the 9th Infantry Division.
* Recent information provided by a nephew of John Reagle identified the correct location as Centerville, Crawford County, PA

George Henry Stahl, Jr.
Stahl was the son of George H. and Gloria J. Stahl. His official home of residence is listed as West Fairview, Cumberland County. According to his sister Donna Conner of Maine, George's parents were divorced at the time of his death. He actually resided with his father in Dauphin County. Graduating from Central Dauphin High School in 1965, he joined the army right after graduation and began his tour in Vietnam in April 1966. He was a helicopter crew member in Company A, 25th Aviation Battalion under the 25th Infantry Division. He died at age 19 in a helicopter accident on 20 May 1966.

James Edward Torrence
Born at West Point, New York, on 23 October 1932, Torrence was the son of a retired army officer. James graduated from the United States Military Academy with the class of 1955 and went on to earn a masters degree from Duke University. He married Mabel Hays of Carlisle. Torrence attended the Army War College in 1959-1960, and went to Vietnam in 1962 as an American advisor. He returned to the country in August 1970 for a second tour as an American advisor to a South Vietnamese Infantry Division. He died on 18 May 1971, in a helicopter accident. He was buried at West Point. At the time of his death he was 38 years old and the father of two sons.

Merwin Howard Vorman
Although his family resided in Carlisle for nine months prior to his death, Vorman was from the western Pennsylvania town of Titusville. Attached to the Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) as an advisor, he was killed in action on 21 July 1967. His German- born wife, Wilhelmine Froschauer, and their three children lived on South West Street in Carlisle in 1967.