James Lee Van Bendegom ★ Vietnam War Gold Star Veteran from Wisconsin
On July 12, 1967 Staff Sergeant Van Bendegom was declared a casualty of the Vietnam War. ★ He served with honor in the United States Army. ★ He is remembered by the people of Wisconsin. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
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Click to Submit Update Request for this Fallen Service Member▼ Content Integrity Note
Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of James Lee Van Bendegom is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2020-10-09 08:43:38.
Missing : Core Data
· Special awards and honors· Date of tour or service
Missing : Supplemental Data
· Birth + childhood location· Educational background
· Marriage history
· Parents, family history
· Expanded references and citations
Service Details
| This Profile ID | 303043 |
| Service ID | 294500350 |
| Name | James Lee Van Bendegom |
| From | Kenosha, Kenosha County, Wisconsin |
| Birth Date | November 28, 1948 |
| Casualty Date | July 12, 1967 |
| War | Vietnam War |
| Service Branch | Army |
| Rank | Staff Sergeant |
| Specialty | Light Weapons Infantry |
| Unit/Group | 4th Infantry Division, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry, B Company |
| Casualty Type | Died while captured by enemy .. Body not recovered until 1986 |
| Location | Kotanokiri Province, Cambodia |
| Burial | Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial |
| Notable Awards |
★ Prisoner of War Medal
★ Purple Heart |
| Remembered | 
James Lee Van Bendegom is buried or memorialized at Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location.  James is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 23e, Line 65. |
Additional Details
Staff Sergeant James Lee "Jim" Van Bendegom was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division.On July 12, 1967, he was on a search and destroy mission along the Cambodian border when his unit was overrun. He was taken prisoner by the North Vietnamese and died in captivity. It was reported by of POWs that James had been shot and carried off by North Vietnamese soldiers and died soon after. His remains were eventually repatriated on March 14, 1986 and positively identified on October 17, 2014. He has been laid to rest next to his father at Sunset Ridge Memorial Park in Kenosha, Wisconsin. |
Commendations + Awards
Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.
★ Prisoner of War Medal
★ Purple Heart
★ Combat Infantryman Badge
★ Marksmanship Badge
★ National Defense Service Medal
★ Vietnam Campaign Medal
★ Vietnam Service Medal
★ Army Presidential Unit Citation
★ Vietnam Gallantry Cross
Notable Reference Sources
These are typically links to pages on external sites that have provided specific nodes of information. In most cases the information has some assurance of being crowd-sourced and vetted by a community of users.Wisconsin Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of Wisconsin who gave their all for their country. May their example of courage and sacrifice be our guide. To be strong and responsible in our lives as citizens of the world. Through honest daily actions, we honor them.
▼ Wisconsin was home to over 12,786 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 2,844 World War I
• 7,901 World War II
• 879 Korean War
• 1,162 Vietnam War
• 290 Prisoners of war
• 1,862 Missing in action
• 50 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 90 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 12 Medal of Honor recipients
• 7,901 World War II
• 879 Korean War
• 1,162 Vietnam War
• 290 Prisoners of war
• 1,862 Missing in action
• 50 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 90 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 12 Medal of Honor recipients
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▼ Primary Sources - These are repositories for artifacts, documents, diaries, manuscripts, and other information that serve as original and authoritative sources of information.
National Archives (NARA)
Library of Congress (LOC)
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
Findagrave.com
Ancestry.com
Honoring our fallen. Together. Uniting us in meaningful common cause. When we work together to honor our Gold Star veterans, we heal our nation together. It's a team effort. Everyone's invited to join as a Citizen Historian and Guardian of Honor. - learn more
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National D-Day Memorial
Dedicated on June 6th, 2001 by president George W. Bush, the National D-Day Memorial was constructed in honor of those who died that day, fighting in one of the most significant battles in our nations history.
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