Overview:
Palau will pause this Memorial Day to honor soldiers who never returned home. Veterans and families will remember the lives and sacrifices of Palauan troops killed while serving in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Families, veterans and communities to honor Palauan troops lost in combat and military service
KOROR, Palau (May 20, 2026) — Veterans in Palau will honor the nation’s fallen heroes during Memorial Day observances on May 25, remembering Palauan men who lost their lives while serving in the U.S. military during conflicts in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Among those being remembered is Capt. Kintaro John of the U.S. Army, who died Sept. 27, 1971, during his second tour of duty in Vietnam. Officials said the helicopter he was piloting crashed in bad weather while returning to base from a mission. The three-member crew was recovered the following day, but difficult weather and tactical conditions forced recovery teams to suspend efforts to retrieve the helicopter.
Also honored is Cpl. Jaygee Meluat, 24, of the U.S. Marine Corps. Meluat served with the 3rd Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, California. He lost his life by enemy action Sept. 13, 2004, in Anbar Province, Iraq, on his daughter’s third birthday.
Meluat, the youngest of 12 children, graduated from George Washington High School in Guam in 1990.
Veterans will also remember Lance Cpl. Adam Emul, 19, of the U.S. Marine Corps, who served with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based at Twentynine Palms, California.
Emul was a casualty during combat operations in Anbar Province, Iraq, on Jan. 29, 2007. He enlisted in the Marine Corps two months after graduating from high school in June 2005 and deployed to Iraq in September 2006.
Cpl. Meresbang Ngiraked, 21, of the U.S. Army, will also be honored. Ngiraked served with Bravo Battery, 5th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment at Fort Lewis, Washington. He enlisted in the Army in 2004 and died on June 10, 2007, in Karbala, Iraq, after suffering wounds from a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack that also killed two other soldiers.
Another fallen soldier being remembered is Sgt. Jasper Obakrairur, 26, of the U.S. Army. Obakrairur served with the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York.
He died June 1, 2009, during his second tour of duty after an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Nerkh, Afghanistan.
Also among the honored is Sgt. Sonny Moses, 22, of the U.S. Army, who served with the 101st Special Troops Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Moses died April 18, 2011, at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany from wounds suffered during a grenade attack two days earlier at Forward Operating Base Gamberi in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.
Memorial Day ceremonies in Palau serve as a time for veterans, families and communities to remember the sacrifices made by Palauans who served alongside U.S. forces and gave their lives in military service.
