Eleanor Grace Alexander Vietnam War Gold Star Veteran from New Jersey

Eleanor Grace Alexander
Vietnam War
Vietnam War
New Jersey
Medics
Nurses
On November 30, 1967 Captain Alexander was declared a casualty of the Vietnam War. She served with honor in the United States Army. She is remembered by the people of New Jersey. May her positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
We all benefit when we work together to honor fallen American service members. The Honor States archive is a grassroots initiative. Of the people, by the people, for the people.
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Content Integrity Note
Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of Eleanor Grace Alexander 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 2020-09-26 18:01:36.
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Service Details
This Profile ID307144
Service IDN2331728
NameEleanor Grace Alexander
FromRivervale, Bergen County, New Jersey
Birth DateSeptember 18, 1940
Casualty DateNovember 30, 1967
WarVietnam War
Service BranchArmy
RankCaptain
SpecialtyNurse
Unit/Group44th Medical Brigade, 85th Evacuation Hospital, 55th Medical Group
Casualty TypeKilled in action, air crash
LocationQuang Binh, Vietnam
BurialSaint Andrews Cemetery, River Vale, Bergen County, New Jersey
Notable Awards
Bronze Star
Purple Heart
RememberedEleanor Grace Alexander is buried or memorialized at Saint Andrews Cemetery, River Vale, Bergen County, New Jersey.
Eleanor is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 31E, Line 8.
Additional Details
Two US Army nurses, Captain Alexander of Westwood, New Jersey, and Lt Orlowski of Detroit, Michigan died on November 30, 1967 when their transport plane crashed. They had been sent to a hospital in Pleiku to help out during a time of heightened fighting. Alexander was 27, Orlowski 23. Both were posthumously awarded the Bronze Star medal.

Eleanor Grace Alexander graduated from D'Youville College School of Nursing in Buffalo, Erie County, New York in 1961. She had been working as a surgical nurse in New York County, New York. She was a political activist, and often voiced concern about the Vietnam War. Restless after six years at Madison Hospital in New York City, Eleanor joined the Army Nurse Corps in May 1967 and asked to be assigned to Vietnam.

On November 30, 1967 she was a passenger on the US Air Force C-7B De Havilland Caribou #62-4175 from the 458th Tactical Airlift Squadron at Cam Ranh Air Base. They hit a mountain about 5 miles south of Qui Nhon after they missed their approach in bad weather.

This was a terrible single incident loss, with 26 people killed in the crash. Four crewmen, two Air Force passengers, 18 US Army personnel, and two US civilians. Five of the passengers were medical personnel.
We identified 24 casualties in our archive related to the #62-4175 incident on November 30, 1967.
Eleanor G Alexander :: Nurse
Edward O Bilsie :: Medical Specialist
Bobby G Brown :: Armor Intelligence
Daryl L Davis :: Air Crew
Arturo Delgado-Marin :: Air Crew
William R Godwin :: Field Artillery Basic
William E Groves :: Infantry Operation
Whyley E Josh :: Infantry Indirect
Bobby D Likens Sr :: Light Weapons Infantry
Norman F Loeffler Jr :: Field Medical Assistant
Jose L Miranda-Ortiz :: Linguist
Thomas D Moore Jr :: Pilot
Phillip A Ogas :: Operating Room
Jerome E Olmsted :: Medical Anesthetist
Hedwig D Orlowski :: Nurse
Clarence L Palmer :: Water Treatment
Jack Rogers :: Field Artillery Crewman
Kenneth R Shoemaker Jr :: Medical Anesthetist
Lawrence D Snyder :: Armor Intelligence
Teddy Waxman :: Air Crew
Libert J Weldon Jr :: Petroleum Storage
Edward L Williamson :: Ammunition Storage
Stanley J Yurewicz :: Aircraft Maintenance
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.
Bronze Star
Purple Heart
Nurse Corps 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.
New Jersey Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of New Jersey 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.
New Jersey was home to over 17,260 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 2,789 World War I
• 12,131 World War II
• 852 Korean War
• 1,488 Vietnam War
• 158 Prisoners of war
• 2,909 Missing in action
• 30 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 206 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 19 Medal of Honor recipients
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Honor States Admin Roy "Joker" Sarah Jo "Lady Chaos"
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
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Balboa Park Veterans Museum
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honor
None of us would be who we are, or have what we have, if not for the strengths and sacrifices of others. Most of us enjoy lives of relative freedom. Our freedom has come at enormous cost. The price paid by those who gave their all. In service to their country, states and communities. Each of them a beloved member of our global family.
states
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Derek - We must never forget what these men gave for us. This site is a great way to show tribute to our Heroes. Stay the course!
Grace - Thank you for this tribute to our fallen veterans. They were wonderful young men who died way too young. It is sad.
Victor - It's great to be a part of this community effort on behalf of our veterans. Looking forward to future work together on it.
Travis - What an incredibly determined human being. These guys are what make up the backbone of our country. Thanks for your work.