Sgt Nidds & All POW/MIA - Lake St. Louis, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 38° 47.151 W 090° 47.691
15S E 691532 N 4295322
This tree is not in the honor circle, but stands alone next to the square gazebo.
Waymark Code: WM18HRH
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 08/07/2023
Views: 0
County of tree: St. Charles County
Location of tree: Veterans Memorial Park, Lake St. Louis
Plaque Text:
THE FREEDOM TREE
With the Vision of Universal Freedom
For All Mankind
This tree is dedicated to
SGT DANIEL NIDDS
and All
Prisoners of War
and
Missing in Action
1973
"On April 21, 1967, two groups of four Americans each were aboard two sampans (small wooden boats) on the Tra Bong River near Quang Ngai Province making a return trip from a forward combat patrol. During the journey, the first sampan developed a leak, and the boat accelerated around a peninsula in order to reach shore as fast as possible; however, this broke visual contact between the two boats. The first sampan reached shore and waited for the second sampan, but it never appeared. The second sampan was last seen being escorted by a group of Vietnamese fishermen. Immediate searches of the area were unsuccessful in locating the missing boat or the four men who were aboard it. Extensive dives in the river and aerial searches were conducted in the days following the disappearance but were similarly unsuccessful.
"Staff Sergeant Daniel Russell Nidds entered the U.S. Army from New York and served in Battery C, 3rd Battalion, 82nd Artillery Regiment, 196th Light Infantry Brigade. He was aboard the second sampan when it went missing, and attempts to locate him or his remains following the incident were unsuccessful. Today, Staff Sergeant Nidds is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific." ~ DPAA