Veteran Tributes

55 years ago today, Lt Col Earl G. Cobeil died at the hands of his North Vietnamese communist captors - 5 November 1970. For his heroism in combat and as a Prisoner of War, he was awarded the Air Force Cross, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Purple Heart, and the Air Medal. His remains were returned to the United States in 1974 and he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

https://veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=18

Major Roy A. Knight, Jr., was Killed in Action over Laos 58 years ago today - 19 May 1967. He was officially listed as Missing in Action and promoted through the ranks to Colonel before being declared dead in September 1974. His remains were returned to the United States in February 2019, and positively identified in June 2019. Col Knight was buried with Full Military Honors on August 10, 2019.

For his heroism in combat, Col Knight was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross.

https://veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=1180

56 years ago today, Lt Col Edwin L. Atterberry was tortured to death by his communist North Vietnamese captors. For his heroism in captivity, he was later posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross:

https://veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=15

It took me over a decade, but I was finally able to get a photo A1C Cartney Jean McRaven in uniform to update her tribute page with. A1C McRaven was at the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City registering her name change after her recent marriage when the Oklahoma City Bombing occurred, killing her and 170 other people on April 19, 1995:

http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=1625

My newest tribute page is in honor of Tec 5 Medgar W. Evers, U.S. Army. He served in England and France during World War II, and after the war he graduated from college and became a Civil Rights leader in Mississippi in the 1950s and 1960s. He was murdered at his home in Jackson, Mississippi, on June 12, 1963, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The cargo ship USNS Medgar Evers (T-AKE-13) was named in his honor in 2009, and he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2024. Most people don't realize the ribbon for the Presidential Medal of Freedom has a place in precedence on the military ribbon rack of U.S. Military Personnel. His murderer was not convicted until 1994.

http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=2531

I have just completed the page for the 3rd member of the helicopter crew that tried to stop the massacre at My Lai, South Vietnam, on March 16, 1968. This page is in honor of SP4 Lawrence M. Colburn:

http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=2520

LT James E. “Jimmy” Carter, U.S. Navy died today:

http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=2429

Major Hugh C. Thompson, Jr., was the pilot of the helicopter that tried to stop the My Lai Massacre in South Vietnam on March 16, 1968. 30 years later he was awarded the Soldier's Medal for his heroism that day:

http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=2507

This tribute page is in honor of 1st Lt Michael J. Blassie, U.S. Air Force. For 14 years, Lt Blassie was the Vietnam service member in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery before being exhumed and identified in 1998. He was shot down over South Vietnam on May 11, 1972. For his heroism during his 4 months in combat, he was awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart, and 5 Air Medals:

http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=2506

I have just completed my 2,500th tribute page on my Veteran Tributes website. This one is in honor of Chaplain Emil J. Kapaun, a U.S. Army Captain that served as a Chaplain in both World War II and the Korean War. In Korea, he was taken as a Prisoner of War on November 2, 1950, and died in captivity on May 23, 1951. For his heroism on his final combat action he was awarded the Medal of Honor, having earlier been awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor for another action. For his service as a POW he was awarded the Legion of Merit:

http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=2500

My second Space Shuttle Challenger tribute page is for Col Ellison S. Onizuka:

http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=2491

I have created pages for NASA Astronauts before, but this is the first one I have created for any of the Astronauts that died on the Space Shuttle Challenger mission that exploded on January 28, 1986:

Lt Col Francis R. "Dick" Scobee served in the U.S. Air Force from 1957 to 1980, and was a NASA Astronaut from 1978 until he was killed while serving as Spacecraft Commander on the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986:

http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=2490