The Wall › Panel 40E › Minnesota › Alfred Richard Olson
ALFRED RICHARD OLSON
Specialist Five · U.S. Army
October 18, 1946 – February 20, 1968
Service recordAlfred Richard Olson, of St Paul, Minnesota, served as a Specialist Five in the U.S. Army. He died on February 20, 1968, in Gia Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 40E, Line 45 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 40E · Line 45
Names are inscribed in the order of loss, starting at Panel 1E at the apex and ending at Panel 1W. At the Memorial, find the panel number at the base and count down from the top line.
Remember
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Specialist Five (SP5)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Practical Nurse (91C)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 INF DIV
- Born
- October 18, 1946
- Home of record
- St Paul, Minnesota (Ramsey County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 20, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Gia Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
76 names on the Wall carry the date February 20, 1968; 21 of them were lost in Gia Dinh Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 125 of its members that month.
He died in Gia Dinh Province while the Tet Offensive was under way. Beginning on the night of 30–31 January 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces attacked more than 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. February 1968 was the deadliest month of the war for Americans.
Also on Panel 40E, Line 45
- MICHAEL JOSEPH MCGINNISMajor · February 20, 1968
- LARRY DOUGLAS NEASBITTSergeant · February 20, 1968
- TERRY Y OGAMICorporal · February 20, 1968
- GALEN ERICK OHLSONSpecialist Five · February 20, 1968
Same unit, same day
- JAMES ALBERT ANDERSONPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 35
- RAY D CROPPERSpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 38
- KENNETH LLOYD FETTERSergeant · Panel 40E, Line 38
- JEFFREY WALLACE GREENFirst Lieutenant · Panel 40E, Line 39
- STEPHEN MICHAEL HANSENSpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 40
- DONALD LEE HERNDONSpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 40
- JOSE BABAUTA HERRERAPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 41
- JEFFREY LYNN HOLBROOKPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 41
- DANIEL HOLCOMBStaff Sergeant · Panel 40E, Line 41
- JIMMIE DOUGLAS JONESSpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 42
- GUY EUGENE LEESergeant · Panel 40E, Line 43
- DONALD JAMES LOZANOPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 43
- MARVIN LEO MILLERPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 44
- GALEN ERICK OHLSONSpecialist Five · Panel 40E, Line 45
- DAVID LLOYD MOREHOUSEPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 46
- DONALD DEWAYNE PHILBECKPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 46
- MICHAEL W PICARDSergeant · Panel 40E, Line 47
- DARRYL WARREN A POINTERCorporal · Panel 40E, Line 47
- ARNOLD W PRICEPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 47
- PAUL RICHARD URBAN JRCorporal · Panel 40E, Line 48
- WALTER EARL VONDERCHEKSpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 49
From St Paul
- RAYMOND CHARLES WILDEChief Warrant Officer 2 · January 11, 1963
- DAVID MICHAEL HALBAUERStaff Sergeant · October 13, 1965
- JOHN CALVIN ELZY IIIPrivate First Class · November 16, 1965
- ROBERT E WALDVOGELSpecialist Four · November 17, 1965
- ARLIN ROGER JENSENSpecialist Four · November 19, 1965
- JOHN WALTER WILSON JRPrivate First Class · December 10, 1965
- KALE ARLAN SOLBERGPrivate First Class · February 1, 1966
- JOSEPH SAMUEL HERRONPrivate First Class · March 4, 1966
- DAVID JOSEPH KERNPrivate First Class · April 1, 1966
- LAVERN GEORGE REILLYColonel · May 15, 1966
Source. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Casualty Analysis System, Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File (as of April 29, 2008), Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Record Group 330, National Archives (NAID 2240992). Panel and line as recorded in that file. This page presents the official record and its historical context; no biography has been written for him yet. See something wrong? Report a correction.