Rail Splitter Rest Area (SB I-55) POW/MIA Memorial - Sherman, IL - Vietnam POW/MIA Monuments on Waymarking.com

There is another Rail Splitter Rest Area just a few miles away on the other side of the Interstate as you head north, with a similar memorial honoring different servicemen. Other memorials such as these will be found throughout the state, each a black sign with "Illinois Remembers" and "POW/MIA". The signs have multiple gold plates, each with the soldier's name, rank, and home town; in this case, the fourth one is blank. Remembered here are Captain Willard Collins (Quincy), LCDR Gordon Perisho (Quincy), and LTJG Robert McMahan (Jacksonville), and the P.O.W. Network provides some background for each of these MIAs:

Captain Willard Collins:

On March 9, 1966, Capt. Willard M. Collins, 1Lt. Delbert R. Peterson, and SSgt. Robert E. Foster were part of the crew of an AC47 sent on a combat mission over the A Shau Valley in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. The AC47 was shot down, and three of the crew were rescued. Foster was probably killed while holding off enemy forces, Collins died as well, and Peterson was declared MIA.

LCDR Gordon Perisho:

LCDR John D. Peace III was an Intruder pilot and LT Gordon S. Perisho his Bombardier/Navigator; both assigned to the 75th Attack Squadron onboard the supercarrier, USS Kitty Hawk. On December 31, 1967, Peace and Perisho disappeared while flying an attack mission against a cave storage area in Vinh, North Vietnam. Weather hampered recovery efforts, and it is unknown whether they crashed or ejected.

LTJG Robert McMahan:

Navy Lt. Robert C. McMahan's F8E aircraft was shot down near the city of Vinh in North Vietnam on February 14, 1968. As of November 1990, he was missing no more: That same year, his remains were returned to the United States and positively identified.

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