A dedication honoring the fallen heroes of Bowling Green State University will be held on Nov. 12.
The presentation by the American Legion and American Legion Buckeye Boys State will begin at 1 p.m. in
Memorial Hall.
BGSU’s Memorial Hall was dedicated in 1961 in memory of BGSU students who had lost their lives in service
to the United States. A plaque in the vestibule lists 78 names of these individuals who served in World
War I, World War II and the Korean War.
The Nov. 12 ceremony will update the plaque for BGSU students who have lost their lives in service to the
country since the original dedication.
The names of 21 men who were students at BGSU and who died serving their country will be added to the
plaque. They are:
• Maj. Clyde Wilson Enderle, 1959 Air Force ROTC, shot down in Darlac, Vietnam on March 19, 1970 while
serving with the 20th Special OPS SQD, 7th AF.
• 1st Lt. Douglas C. Mabee, 1968 Army ROTC, was killed in Vietnam in 1970 while serving with the 196th
Light Infantry Brigade.
• Marine Cpl. William Wirick died in combat in Vietnam in 1968. He was awarded the Navy Cross for his
heroism.
• Marine Cpl. Steve Victor Mylant died in combat in Quang Tin Province, Vietnam in July 1967 while
serving with the 1st Marine Division.
• Marine Cpl. Daniel Louis Pucci died of wounds received on June 2, 1969 in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam
while serving with Bravo Co., 1/3 Marines, 3rd Marine Division.
• 2nd Lt. Stephen Walter Young, 1967 BGSU graduate, was killed by a sniper in Chuong Thien Province,
Vietnam, in 1969 while serving as an advisor with MACV.
• 1st Lt. Charles Thomas Jones died in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, on June 25, 1971 while serving
with C CO, 1st/327th INF, 101st ABN DIV.
• Capt. Roger Behnfeldt, 1967 Air Force ROTC and former Buckeye Boys State delegate, was shot down over
North Vietnam in 1972 and his remains were recovered in 1987.
• Capt. Terry Moore, 1974 Air Force ROTC, died in a US Air Force jet fighter crash during a training
exercise in 1978.
• Air Force 2nd Lt. Rick Robeson, a 1981 Air Force ROTC graduate died in a B-52 crash in Sacramento,
Calif., in December 1982 at Mathers Air Force Base.
• Lt. Col. Kevin Sonnenberg, 1988, died in an Air Force plane crash in Iraq in 2007.
• Capt. Mike Medders Jr., 2005 Army ROTC was killed in Iraq by a suicide bomber in 2008.
• Lt. Col. Thomas Belkofer, 1992 Army ROTC, died in Afghanistan when his NATO convoy was attacked by a
suicide bomber on May 18, 2010.
• USAF Maj. Phillip Edward Donley graduated from BGSU in 1964 and earned his doctor of medicine degree
from in 1967 from University of Kentucky. He died Jan. 18, 1971 in a plane crash in Furstenfeldbruck,
West Germany. He was a flight surgeon and co-pilot on an F-4 Phantom fighter bomber.
• 2nd Lt. Dale Haven graduated from the Air Force ROTC program in 1961 and died in a T-33 jet training
accident on April 13, 1962 at the Laredo Texas Air Force Base. His father was a former professor in the
music department.
• 1st Lt. Robert Roy Dimick, a 1955 Air Force ROTC graduate, died in a crash of an Air Force 4-engine
C118 transport plane he was piloting at McChord Air Force Base near Tacoma, Wash., on April 1, 1959.
• 1st Lt. Paul Douglas Strahm, a 1965 Air Force ROTC graduate, died in hostile action flying an F-100
with the 90th Tactical Fighter Squadron in Bien Hoa Province on Jan. 14, 1968.
• Pfc. Timothy Edward Shanower was the top graduate in his US Marine Corps basic class. He was killed in
battle on Sept. 3, 1968 in Quang Nan Province, South Vietnam.
• Sgt. Stephen Paul Shaner graduated from BGSU in January 1968. Stephen was a delegate to Buckeye Boys
State in 1963. He died on Aug. 7, 1969 while serving with the 199th Infantry Brigade in Long Khanh
Province, South Vietnam.
• 2nd Lt. John W. Vaughan, a 1966 BGSU graduate with a bachelor of education, died when the C-130 he was
a passenger on crashed in An Khe Vietnam on June 17, 1967. He was a passport and auditing officer with
the 1st Logistics Command.
• Lt. James John Zavocky transferred from BGSU after his freshman year to Ohio State. While on a photo
reconnaissance mission off the coast of North Vietnam his RA-3 disappeared Aug 25, 1967. Along with
Zavocky, the pilot and navigator also were declared missing in action and have never been recovered.
In addition to these individuals, there may have been others, perhaps another student who dropped out
before completing his or her studies or maybe someone else who was drafted after graduation. Anyone has
knowledge of any fellow students who died in service of our country should contact David Ridenour at
[email protected] or by mail at 17070 Mercer Road, Bowling Green. In addition to the individual’s name,
any additional information to include biographies, obituaries or pictures would be appreciated.