Sifter

If there’s anything that even comes close to bringing home the horrible impact of war, it’s the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Name after name appears on its mirror-like surface. And now, the names of the fallen soldiers also appear on the Internet, searchable through the Web site http://thewall-usa.com. The site also includes a message board where friends, lovers, family members and strangers can post. One man’s younger brother wrote, “I miss you. I always looked up to you.” Another who served in the same company as a fallen soldier wrote, “He never quit trying to administer aid to the wounded, even after being wounded himself.” The site also notes on which panel and line each name is engraved. The following soldiers were from Chico.

Name Branch Age Casualty date How killed

John Robert Adams Army 31 March 13, 1978† died after helicopter shot down

Maximino Estrada Marines 20 March 25, 1971 gun, small arms

Robert Glenn Hartman Army 24 Oct. 1, 1969 explosive device

Gary Dennis Holton Army 18 July 3, 1968 hostile fire, helicopter crash

Allan Dean Masteller Army* 23 Feb. 28, 1968 artillery, rocket or mortar

Joseph Verne Olszewski Navy — Jan. 27, 1970 illness, disease

Roy Vernon Rawlin Army* 21 Aug. 11, 1969 multiple fragmentation wounds

Harry Daniel Sarakov Marines 19 May 15, 1969 gun, small-arms fire

Gary Ralph Schwellenbach Army 19 Dec. 17, 1969 gun, small-arms fire

Floyd Wayne Strange Army 32 May 22, 1978† accidental helicopter crash

George Francis Talken Navy 30 Aug. 2, 1969 hostile fire; plane crashed at sea

Michael Frederick Walker Army* 20 Jan. 6, 1968 hostile ground casualty

Todd Louis Wood Army* 19 Jan. 9. 1969 gun, small-arms fire

* Soldier was drafted through Selective Service process.

† Online posts note that Sgt. Adams actually died at age 21, in 1967. The Chico High grad was listed missing in action until 1978, when he was declared dead. Floyd Strange’s body was similarly never recovered.