We Remember

Lieutenant Eric Allen Cranford hailed from Drexel, N.C. and was commissioned in the U.S. Navy at the University of North Carolina in 1992. He served in a helicopter squadron in Mayport, Fla., and on the USS Gettysburg, USS McInerney and USS Carr.  He was killed in service at the Pentagon in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He was 32 and pursuing his MBA at the Smith School. The degree was posthumously conferred to him with the Class of 2001. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.  

Lieutenant Michael Scott Lamana grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and graduated from Louisiana State University in 1992. Following commissioning in the U.S. Navy, he served as a Naval Flight Officer in P-3 Orion aircraft. He was killed in service at the Pentagon in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He was 31 and pursuing his Smith MBA. The degree was posthumously conferred to him with the Class of 2001. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. 

Lieutenant Commander Ronald Vauk was born in Nampa, ID and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1987. Following nuclear power training, he served in the submarine service aboard USS Glenard P. Lipscomb and USS Oklahoma City. In 1993, he joined the Naval Reserves while working for Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and earning his MBA from the Smith School of Business. He was killed in service at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 at the age of 37.  He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.  

Captain Harry Allen was from Laurel, Md., and graduated from the University of Maryland with a major in business and public administration in 1948. He subsequently served in the U.S. Army Air Force’s 21st AF Fighter Intercept Squadron during World War II. He died March 15th, 1952 while serving in the U.S. Air Force at the age of 28.  He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.  

Our research could not identify any biographical details or photos of John. If you knew him, or know someone who did, please contact rhsmith-vets@umd.edu.

First Lieutenant William Krehnbrink was from Baltimore, Md., and graduated from the University of Maryland with a major in business and public administration.  He subsequently served with the 21st Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, U.S. Marine Corps.  He was Killed In Action on July 22nd, 1944 at the age of 24.  He is buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, HI.  

Private First Class Reid Messinger was from Baltimore, Md., and attended the University of Maryland with a major in business and public administration. He subsequently enlisted in the Army and served with the 413th Infantry, 104th Infantry Division. He was Killed in Action in Holland on November 3rd, 1944 at the age of 20. He is buried in Moscow Cemetery, Latah County, Idaho.

Second Lieutenant Abraham Birnbaum was from Baltimore, Md., and attended the University of Maryland with a major in business and public administration.  He subsequently joined the Army and was killed in France on November 9th, 1944 at the age of 22.

He is buried in Mount Hebron Cemetery in Flushing, NY. 

Private John McCool was from Elkton, Md., and enrolled at the University of Maryland with a major in Business and Public Administration.  He subsequently enlisted in the Army and served 13th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division.  He was Killed in Action in Hurtgenwald, Germany on November 28th, 1944 at the age of 19.  He is buried in Brick Meeting House Cemetery in Calvert, Md.

William Pearce was born in Brentwood, Maryland on June 15, 1922. On July 13, 1945 he was on the crew of the B-29 Superfortess when they departed for their base on Tinian Island during a mission to Japan. They experienced engine failure and were forced to ditch into the ocean off Saipan. He was one of two men lost. He is memorialized at the Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial.

Second Lieutenant Philip Rosenfield was from Norwalk, Connecticut, and attended the University of Maryland with a major in business and public administration. He subsequently served in the Army Air Forces 414th Bomber Squadron, 97th Bomber Group, Heavy.  He has been Missing in Action since November 11, 1944, when B-17G #44-6338 failed to return to Amendola Field from a bomb run to Salzburg. The flight is believed to have crashed near Friuli, Italy.

Second Lieutenant Robert Dorn was from Riverdale, MD and attended the University of Maryland with a major in Business and Public Administration.  He subsequently served in the U.S. Army Air Forces 599th Bomber Squadron, 397th Bomber Group, 9th Air Force.  Following a bombing mission to Germany, in 1944, his B-26 Marauder was attacked by German fighters and crashed. He was interred initially in France and was later repatriated to the U.S. on July 20, 1949.
 

First Lieutenant James Dunn was a member of the University of Maryland’s Class of 1942 and subsequently served in the U.S. Army’s 17th Airborne Division.  He was awarded the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action. 

Lieutenant James Hambleton was born in Washington, DC and attended the University of Maryland with a major in business and public administration. He subsequently served in the U.S. Army Air Forces 22nd Air Force Ferrying Command and was responsible for transferring combat aircraft to overseas bases and facilitating their replacement. He died in service on February 23rd, 1943 at the age of 23, and is buried at Atlantic View Cemetery in Manasquan, New Jersey. 

Sergeant Annesley Hodson was from Baltimore Maryland and studied Business and Public Administration at the University of Maryland.  He subsequently served in the U.S. Army Air Forces 395th Bomb Group, 589th Bomb Squadron.  On July 24th, 1943 at the age of 24, he was one of 13 airmen killed when B-17F Flying Fortress #42-30488 crashed in Grant County, Washington.  He is buried in Loudon Park Cemetery in Baltimore, MD.

 

Ensign Fletcher Jones was from Washington, DC, and attended the University of Maryland with a major in Business and Public Administration. Considered an excellent shot, he captained the UMD rifle team and subsequently joined the U.S. Navy for flight training in support of World War II. He was declared Missing in Action / Dead While Missing in 1943 at the age of 23 when his fighter plane did not return from a flight over the Pacific.  He is listed on the Honolulu World War II Memorial (Courts of the Missing) in Honolulu, HI.     

First Lieutenant Lawrence MacKenzie was from Silver Spring, MD, and studied business and public administration at the University of Maryland. He subsequently served in the U.S. Army 85th Mountain Infantry, 10th Mountain Division, Company G. He was killed in action on February 21st, 1945 during an artillery barrage while checking one of his rifle platoons. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. 

Stanley graduated from the University of Maryland in 1942. He died in service to his country on August 9, 1943. He is buried in Pennsylvania.

Sergeant Earl Springer was born in Hagerstown, MD, and graduated from the University of Maryland with a major in business and public administration in 1941.  A left-handed pitcher on the road to baseball fame, Springer played for the Terps, Hagerstown Owls, and Baltimore Orioles before joining the Army and deploying in 1944 with the Seventh Armored Battalion.  He was killed in action on January 25th, 1945 in Germany at the age of 26. He is buried in Luxembourg American Cemetery in Hamm, Luxembourg.

First Lieutenant Gino Valenti was from Washington, DC, and attended the University of Maryland with a major in Business and Public Administration. He subsequently joined the Army and served in the 4th Infantry Division. He died in Saint-James, Basse-Normadie, France on June 17th, 1944 at the age of 26.  He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Second Lieutenant Lewis Carter was born in Loudon, Virginia, and attended the University of Maryland with a major in business and public administration.  He subsequently served in the 94th Army Air Force Bomb Group,  He died in action on May 19th, 1944 at the age of 22 when his B-17 Flying Fortress “MISS DONNA MAE” crashed in Berlin, Germany.  He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Captain William Davis was born in Baltimore, MD, and attended the University of Maryland with a major in business and public administration.  Commissioned into the Army through the UMD ROTC program, he commanded Company C of the 10th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division.  He was killed at age 25 in France on September 10th, 1944, while establishing the Arnaville Bridgehead across the Moselle River during the Battle of Metz. He is buried in Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, Calif.

Charles Markland Kelly, Jr., born September 22, 1916, in Baltimore, was the son of prominent businessman and politician C. Markland Kelly. Mark attended Friends School, Gilman, and McDonogh School, where he excelled in lacrosse. He continued his lacrosse success at the University of Maryland, being named to the first team of the Baltimore Sun’s “All Maryland College Lacrosse Teams of 1940.”

Mark left UMD to enlist as a Naval Air Cadet in October 1940. After aviation training in Florida, he was commissioned in June 1941 and assigned to Fighting Squadron Eight aboard the USS Hornet. The Hornet joined the Pacific operations against Japan in WWII. On June 4, 1942, during the Battle of Midway, his aircraft ran out of fuel and ditched into the ocean. Despite rescue efforts, Mark was lost at sea.

In the photo below, Mark's plane can be seen in the lead position on board the USS Hornet before its last mission.

 

Edward was born in 1917 in Washington, D.C.  He served as a First Lieutenant, Headquarters Company, Philippine Department, U.S. Army during World War II. Before the war, he studied at the University of Maryland where he also played football and was a member of the Reserve Officers Training Corps. He left college to attend Officer Candidate School in Fort Benning, Georgia and arrived in the Philippines in November 1941.

He became a prisoner of the Japanese Army while fighting in the Philippines in 1942.

Edward was declared missing in action while a POW of the Japanese Army in the sinking of the Shinyo Maru. He is memorialized at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial at the Tablets of the Missing.

George Elroy Miller was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania on April 7, 1920. He served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. He was killed in action in the Netherlands on May 21, 1943.

Major Edwin Schmitt was from Washington, DC and attended the University of Maryland with a major in Business and Public Administration.  He was declared Missing In Action June 12th, 1943 at the age of 24 while serving as a Marine Pilot in VMF-121 during the Solomon Islands Campaign in the Pacific. He is memorialized at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial at the tablets of the missing.

Frank was born in Pocomoke City, Maryland. He died in service during a training accident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida on June 30, 1941.