Military Service in Porter CountyMilitary service of Porter County citizens . . . .
Notice appearing in the August 24, 1882, issue of the Porter County Vidette,
Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana [Volume 26, Number 34, Page 4, Column 3].
American Revolutionary War, 1775-1783
Although Porter County did not exist at the time of the Revolutionary War, two soldiers who served in the war resided and are buried in the county. A third soldier may have also lived in the county as well. Biographical sketches of the two verified Revolutionary War soldiers of Porter County have been developed from a variety of sources.
War of 1812, 1812-1815
The following list of Porter County residents serving in the War of 1812 was extracted from an article published in The Vidette-Messenger on August 18, 1936 (Volume 10, Section 4, Page 12). Additional information concerning these soldiers has been obtained from a variety of sources.
Black Hawk War, 1832
The following list of Porter County residents serving in the Blackhawk War was extracted from an article published in The Vidette-Messenger on August 18, 1936 (Volume 10, Section 4, Page 12). Additional information concerning these soldiers has been obtained from a variety of sources.
Seminole War, 1835-1842
Porter County resident John Baum served as a soldier in the Seminole War.
Mexican War, 1846-1848
The following list of Porter County residents serving in the Mexican War was extracted from an article published in The Vidette-Messenger on August 18, 1936 (Volume 10, Section 4, Page 11). Additional data was obtained from enlistments records archived the National Archives and Records Administration. Note that other individuals residing in Porter County may have also served in this war but are omitted due to the lack of complete muster roll records.
American Civil War, 1861-1865
In 1868, the Indiana Adjutant General, William H. H.
Terrell, published an eight volume work enumerating Indiana soldiers that served
in the Civil War. The following
Indiana Adjutant General's List of Porter County Civil War Soldiers
contains 917 records. It should be noted that many names included in the
Adjutant General's published list did not include the soldier's place of
residence. Therefore, this list is not a complete listing of all Porter County
Civil War soldiers.
Published in 1876, the
Hardesty List of Porter County Civil War Soldiers contains 1,103
records. Despite its numerous typographical and spelling errors, this is one of
the most comprehensive lists of individuals from Porter County who served in the
Civil War.
A. G. Hardesty also published a brief historical sketch
of
Porter County in the Civil War. Although not
an extensive work, it provides a good
starting point for researching various units that were predominantly formed from
enlistees residing in Porter County.
In 1978, Phyllis J. Mefford enumerated the Union veterans of the Civil War
listed in membership applications and muster rolls for the
Chaplain Brown Post No. 106 of the Grand Army of the Republic, located
in Valparaiso. Note that many members of Chaplain Brown Post No. 106 were not
residents of Porter County during the Civil War; they had joined the local post
when they moved to Porter County after the war. It is known that this is not a
complete list of all veterans that were at some point in time a member of the
post.
An article concerning Porter County's contributions to the Civil War was reported in an article published in the centennial special edition of The Vidette-Messenger newspaper on August 18, 1936.
Spanish-American War, 1898
The following list of
Porter County residents serving in the Spanish-American War was extracted from an
article published in The Vidette-Messenger on August 18, 1936 (Volume 10,
Section 4, Page 11). The list includes individuals that resided in Porter County
before and/or after the war.
An article concerning
Porter County's contributions to the Spanish-American War
was reported in an
article published in the centennial special edition of The
Vidette-Messenger newspaper on August 18, 1936.
Mexican Expedition (Pursuit of Pancho Villa), 1916-1917
The following list of Porter County residents that served in Company L, Third Indiana Regiment, in the Mexican Expedition was extracted from the August 18, 1936, issue of The Vidette-Messenger (Volume 10, Section 4, Page 12). The purpose of this expedition was to capture Mexican General Pancho Villa along the US-Mexican border.
World War I (The Great War), 1914-1918
The following list of 1,004
World War I veterans from Porter County was extracted from Cannon, Loring,
and Robb's History of the Lake and Calumet Region of Indiana, which was
published in 1927.
The following list of
Porter County casualties of World War I was extracted from William M. Haulsee's Soldiers of the Great War, which was published in 1920.
An article concerning
Porter County's contributions to
World War I was reported in an
article published in the centennial special edition of The
Vidette-Messenger newspaper on August 18, 1936.
World War II, 1941-1945
The following list of
Porter County casualties of World War II was extracted from a large
number of sources, including newspaper records, government databases, and
cemetery records.
Enlistment records of 1,496 individuals claiming Porter County as their county
of residence when enlisting in the United States Army between 1938 and
1946 was transcribed from the National Archives and Records Administration's
World War II Army Enlistment Records, Record Group 64.
Korean War, 1950-1953
The following list of Porter County casualties of the Korean War was extracted from numerous sources, including Records of the Adjutant General's Office, Record Group 407, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland.
Vietnam War, 1965-1975
The following list of Porter County casualties of the Vietnam War was extracted from Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Record Group 330, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland.
Beirut, Lebanon, Barracks Bombing, October 23, 1983
Staff Sergeant Thomas P. Thorstad, a Chesterton resident, perished in the suicide bombing of the United States Marine barracks by Hezbollah operatives in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 23, 1983.
Iraq War and the Occupation of Iraq, 2003-2011
The following list of Porter County casualties of the Iraq War and Occupation of Iraq was extracted from various newspaper sources.
Operation Enduring Freedom, 2001-2014 and Operation Freedom's Sentinel, 2015-2021 (War in Afghanistan)
The following list of Porter County casualties of the War in Afghanistan was extracted from various newspaper sources.