The Wall › Panel 25W › Virginia › Bruce Carlton Bessor
BRUCE CARLTON BESSOR
Captain · U.S. Army
January 10, 1948 – May 13, 1969
Service recordBruce Carlton Bessor, of Fairfax, Virginia, served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. He was lost on May 13, 1969, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 25W, Line 94 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 25W · Line 94
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
- Captain (CPT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Fixed Wing Aviation Unit Commander (1980)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- January 10, 1948
- Home of record
- Fairfax, Virginia (Fairfax (City) County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- May 13, 1969
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
112 names on the Wall carry the date May 13, 1969. In May 1969, 1,456 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Aviation Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 41 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 25W, Line 94
- PATRICK WALLACE BESTPrivate First Class · May 13, 1969
- JIMMIE RAY BICEPrivate First Class · May 13, 1969
- JAMES LEE BLANTON JRPrivate First Class · May 13, 1969
- MICHAEL DELANO BLEAPrivate First Class · May 13, 1969
Same unit, same day
- JOHN HENRY RALPH BROOKSStaff Sergeant · Panel 25W, Line 95
- PAUL EDWARD GOONAN JRSpecialist Four · Panel 25W, Line 100
- JEFFREY CHARLES STOWEWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 25W, Line 111
- KENNETH EUGENE WITMERWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 25W, Line 114
From Fairfax
- ROBERT READE THRUSTON IIIWarrant Officer 1 · December 18, 1964
- MICHAEL ARLIN BALZERSpecialist Four · March 21, 1967
- MICHAEL JOHN FEAGANCorporal · December 21, 1967
- WARREN TAYLOR WHITMIRE JRChief Warrant Officer 3 · May 1, 1968
- PATRICK AUGUSTINE MCKENNAPetty Officer Second Class · July 15, 1968
- PHILIP JEFFREY TAFTPrivate First Class · October 9, 1968
- JON MACGILLIVRAY RUMBLELance Corporal · December 26, 1968
- MARTIN L GREEN JRCaptain · May 11, 1969
- LESLIE LEWIS SHELTONLance Corporal · December 28, 1969
- JOHNNY LEE HAWKINSPrivate First Class · January 4, 1970
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.