Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Md Troopers Assoc #20 & Westminster Md Fire Dept Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Showing posts with label Military MIA POW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Military MIA POW. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Women have served voluntarily since this nation began.


Women have served voluntarily since this nation began.

Last mission: On May 18, 1944, 2nd Lt. Eloise M. Richardson was on a routine flight between the western coast of Bougainville and Guadalcanal. The plane was carrying wounded men including officers and parcels of mail. The plane never arrived at its destination. No evidence of its whereabouts has ever been recovered.

I had this in the back of my mind when Tom Beyard and I did the "Missing American Table and Honors Ceremony" at the Veterans Independence Project Second Annual “Red, White & Blue” Gala – Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019 at the Westminster Riding Club, 366 North Colonial Ave. Westminster, MD 21157

The empty place setting represents Americans, men and women, still missing in action - from each of the five services -- Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard – and civilians. This Honors Ceremony symbolizes that they are with us tonight in spirit.


Most of the stories about military personnel MIA - Missing in Action - are about men. One doesn't think of women in those terms. One family does and they were gracious enough to share that story.

2nd Lt. Eloise M. Richardson was born April 18, 1920, the second eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William F. and Cora (Corrigan) Richardson. Their home was in Marseilles (LaSalle County) Illinois. Eloise was graduated from Marseilles High School at the age of 17. She needed only three years of high school to earn her diploma.

Eloise had planned to attend Ryburn-King School of Nursing in Ottawa, Illinois but was forced to defer her plans until she met the age requirement of 18 years. She began her nursing training in February of the following year. Upon graduation from Ryburn-King, Eloise was on the nurses staff at the hospital and later did general duties at Cook county hospital in Chicago.

In 1942, Eloise enlisted in the Army with the 24th evacuation unit and received her basic training at Breckenridge, KY. She earned her gold wings from an air evacuation unit at Bowman Field, Kentucky in October, 1943.

In December of 1943, at age 23, 2nd Lieutenant Eloise Richardson transferred to the Army Air Force division of nurses. She came home on leave sometime around the first of November, 1943.

On March 8th of 1944, Eloise left San Francisco for overseas duty. She was stationed on Guadalcanal as a flight nurse. Flight nurses duties included removal of the wounded from combat areas by air. On the trip between the combat zone and the hospital behind the lines the flight nurse is in complete control of the C-47 hospital ships.

A WWII Flight Nurse tending wounded troops on board an air evac flight.

On May 18, 1944, Eloise was on a routine flight between the western coast of Bougainville and Guadalcanal. The plane was carrying wounded men including officers and parcels of mail. The plane never arrived at its destination. No evidence of its whereabouts has ever been recovered.

On May 19, 1945, one year and a day after her disappearance, Eloise was declared officially dead. In August of 1945, Eloise was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. The decoration was sent by Brig. Gen. Roland Walsh of the Philadelphia Quartermaster depot. The medal was received by her parents.

Lt. Eloise M. Richardson, N-731623, Army Nurse Corps, MIA May 18, 1944, FOD May 19, 1945, gave her life in service to her country.

Let history remember that women have served voluntarily since this nation began.


Please note: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is displayed without profit or payment for those who have expressed an interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. Photos and images are from the National Archives, The Naval History Center, The U.S. Army, USMC, U.S. Navy, USAF, U.S. Coast Guard, the Defense Visual Information Center, The Army Nurse Corps, and the personal collections of this author. Nothing on this site is for sale nor is it a commercial venture of any kind - it is a one person page for, and about military women - by one retired military woman. Contents copyrighted 2000 by Captain Barbara A. Wilson, USAF (Ret).


Related:

Lots of great folks turned out for the 2nd Annual CCVIP Red, White & Blue Gala November 16, 2019 at The Riding Club in Westminster.

Hats off to everyone who made the evening a success – in particular, the gala committee members: Ann Gilbert, Donna Jean Shybunko, Lexi Schafer, Robin Marinucci, Lauren Hickey, Anna-Maria Halstead, Bobbi Hollingsworth, and Kimberly Harris

And the board Members - Frank Valenti – President, Ed Cramer - Vice President, Ann Gilbert – Secretary, Ken Bonner-Treasurer, Anna-Maria Halstead – Director, Sam Cangewsi, and Cristina Holmes







Wednesday, October 03, 2007

20071002 Servicemen Missing From Vietnam War Are Identified


We owe a debt to their sacrifice and service. May we never forget… Bring them all home…

Servicemen Missing From Vietnam War Are Identified

Tue, 2 Oct 2007 16:07:00 -0500


IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 1180-07 October 02, 2007


Servicemen Missing From Vietnam War Are Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

They are Capt. Warren R. Orr Jr., U.S. Army, of Kewanee, Ill.; and Airman 1st Class George W. Long, U.S. Air Force, of Medicine, Kan. Long was buried Sept. 30 in Medicine and Orr's burial is being set by his family.

On May 12, 1968, these men were part of a crew on a C-130 Hercules evacuating Vietnamese citizens from the Kham Duc Special Forces Camp near Da Nang, South Vietnam. While taking off, the crew reported taking heavy enemy ground fire. A forward air controller flying in the area reported seeing the plane explode in mid-air soon after leaving the runway.

In 1985 and 1991, U.S. officials received remains and identification tags from sources claiming they belonged to men in this crew. Scientific analysis revealed they were not American remains, but it was believed the Vietnamese sources knew where the crash site was located.

In 1993, a joint/U.S.-Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), traveled to Kham Duc and interviewed four local citizens concerning the incident. They led the team to the crash site, and turned over remains and identification tags they had recovered in 1983 while looking for scrap metal. During this visit, the team recovered human remains and aircraft wreckage at the site.

In 1994, another joint team excavated the crash site and recovered remains, pieces of life-support equipment, crew-related gear and personal effects.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.


U.S. Department of Defense

Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)

On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/Releases/

Media Contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132

Public Contact: http://www.defenselink.mil/faq/comment.html or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1

Sunday, September 09, 2007

20070905 Airman Missing from WWII is Identified


Airman Missing from WWII is Identified

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 1083-07 September 05, 2007

U.S. Department of Defense - Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is 2nd Lt. Harold E. Hoskin, U.S. Army Air Forces, of Houlton, Maine. He will be buried Friday in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.

Representatives from the Army met with Hoskin's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.

On Dec. 21, 1943, Hoskin was one of five crewmen on board a B-24D that departed Ladd Field in Fairbanks, Alaska, on a cold-weather test mission. The aircraft never returned to base and it was not located in subsequent search attempts.

The following March, one of the crewmen, 1st Lt. Leon Crane, arrived at Ladd Field after spending more than two months in the Alaska wilderness. He said that the plane had crashed after it lost an engine, and Crane and another crewmember, Master Sgt. Richard L. Pompeo, parachuted from the aircraft before it crashed. Crane did not know what happened to Pompeo after they bailed out.

In October 1944, Crane assisted a recovery team in locating the crash. They recovered the remains of two of the crewmen, 1st Lt. James B. Sibert and Staff Sgt. Ralph S. Wenz. Hoskin's remains were not found and it was concluded that he probably parachuted out of the aircraft before it crashed.

In 2004, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) received information from a National Park Service Historian regarding a possible WWII crash site in the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, Alaska. The historian turned over ashes believed to be the cremated remains of the crew, however, it was determined they contained no human remains.

In 2006, a JPAC team excavated the site and recovered human remains and other non-biological material, including items worn by U.S. Army officers during WWII.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA in the identification of Hoskin's remains.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.

On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=11300

Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132

Public contact:

http://www.defenselink.mil/faq/comment.html
or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1