The 35th Infantry Regiment Association salutes our fallen brother, SGT Dean Dee Chaney, RA15263413, who died in the service of his country on April 30th, 1951 in North Korea. The cause of death was listed as Captured-Died POW. At the time of his death Dean was 20 years of age. He was from Bloomville, Ohio. Dean's Military Occupation Specialty was 2745-Light Weapons Infantry Leader.
The decorations earned by SGT Dean Dee Chaney include: the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Korea Service Medal, and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.
Sergeant First Class Chaney was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was seriously wounded by the enemy in South Korea on September 17, 1950 and returned to duty on October 18, 1950. He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy in North Korea on November 28, 1950 and died while a prisoner on April 30, 1951.His remains were eventually repatriated and positive identification was confirmed on August 8,2015. Sergeant First Class Chaney was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.
Dean was born Nov. 13, 1929, in Bloomville, to Raymond and Mildred (Myers) Chaney. He married Janice (Rhoad) Stokes May 21, 1950, in Bloomville, and she survives in Asheville, North Carolina.
Survivors also include a sister, Mrs. Jean Ann (Harold) Kelbley of Bloomville; a brother, Ralph (Debra) Chaney of Bedford, Texas; and several nieces and nephews. At the time of Deans death, his parents and three brothers, Bill, Jack, and Van Chaney survived him, but now are deceased.
Dean was a 1947 graduate of Bloomville High School, and enlisted in the U.S. Army shortly after his graduation. He had been stationed at Camp Carson, Colorado, and Camp Stoneman, California. SFC Chaney was awarded a Purple Heart, Prisoner of War Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, United Nations Service Medal, Republic of Korea War Service Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
Full military services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, 2015, at Lindsey-Olds Funeral Home, 3085 S. SR 19, Bloomville, with Chaplain Dan Burris officiating. Burial will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery, Bloomville.
SFC Dean Chaney Is Home at Last
By Bill Henson, Associate Editor
(Bloomville, OH) On a cold, windy day, more than six decades after he was taken prisoner during the Korean War, SFC Dean Lee Chaney was welcomed home by nine Cacti brothers. Assigned to K, 3rd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, Dean was captured when an estimated 1,000 Chinese People's Volunteer Forces trapped and attacked his unit near Yongsan-dong, North Korea. According to the Department of Defense, then-Sgt. Chaney was declared MIA following the battle.
In 1953, Dean's fellow prisoners reported that he died of malnutrition at POW Camp 5 in April, 1951. His remains were identified August 8 this year by the Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency employing forensic DNA analyses which matched two of his four brothers, three of whom are now deceased. In ill health, a surviving brother lives in Texas.
Dean's sister, Mrs. Jean Ann Kelbley, still lives in Bloomville with her husband, Harold. Cacti President Wiley Dodd, Recon Plt. E 2-35, presented her and nieces Mary Ann and Melissa Chaney with letters of condolence from the Association. Past President Doc Hall, B 2-35, then presented Cacti challenge coins to the family sent by Jesse Campos, A/B/C 2-35, as well as a book commemorating the Korean War. Fellow Cacti attending the funeral were; Bob Mitchell, B 2-35; Mike Slyck, B 2-35; Larry Curtis, B 2-35; Jim Schumacher, A 2-35; Steve Blaugh, E 2-35; Tony Flesch, Recon Plt.,E 2-35, and myself. We were warmly embraced by family members, who expressed clearly and strongly their gratitude for the Cacti presence and the Association's tribute to Dean, who had been married only six weeks prior to leaving for Korea.
Lindsey-Olds Funeral Director Mark Lindsey estimated the attendance at services for SFC Chaney at 125-150 people. Many knew Dean as a boy, and several of his high school classmates were present along with representatives of a number of area American Legion posts. Following the services held by Army Chaplain (Capt.) Nicholson, the procession to Bloomville's Woodlawn Cemetery was headed by a contingent of Patriot Guard Riders through the village of 900, whose main street was lined with American flags. As the cortege passed the Fire Department, the first responders remained at attention as they provided a final hand salute to a native son the village remembered when times were once good.
SFC Chaney was interred at the cemetery with full military honors.
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