The Wall › Panel 5W › West Virginia › Charles Ray Bess
CHARLES RAY BESS
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
November 2, 1950 – January 16, 1971
Service recordCharles Ray Bess, of Charleston, West Virginia, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on January 16, 1971, in Long Khanh Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 5W, Line 47 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 5W · Line 47
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
Did you know him? Family members and friends are invited to share a photograph or a memory. Nothing is posted until it has been reviewed.
Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Specialist Four (SP4)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Heavy Construction Equipment Operator (62E)
- Unit (as recorded)
- US ARMY REP OF VIETNAM
- Born
- November 2, 1950
- Home of record
- Charleston, West Virginia (Kanawha County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 16, 1971
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Long Khanh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Other Accident
Context · from the records
What was happening
23 names on the Wall carry the date January 16, 1971; two of them were lost in Long Khanh Province. In January 1971, 259 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “US ARMY REP OF VIETNAM”, his unit in the record, lost 32 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 5W, Line 47
- ROBERT ERNEST SHARPECorporal · January 15, 1971
- WILLIAM RAYMOND ZEYENSpecialist Four · January 15, 1971
- JEFF THOMAS BARNETT SRGunnery Sergeant · January 16, 1971
- DEWAINE LAWRENCE BRICKMANCorporal · January 16, 1971
From Charleston
- CHARLES EDWIN HUDDLE JRCaptain · March 21, 1965
- JOHN ROBERT BALLFirst Lieutenant · June 19, 1965
- TIMOTHY MORGAN BLAKESecond Lieutenant · November 15, 1965
- CURTIS ESTILL BINIONFirst Lieutenant · July 5, 1966
- WILLIAM OMER HILLSpecialist Five · December 11, 1966
- JOHN LEE STRICKLANDPrivate First Class · January 11, 1967
- CHARLES EDWARD BOGGSPrivate First Class · March 6, 1967
- EDWARD WALLACE BROWN JRSergeant First Class · May 1, 1967
- JAMES ROBERT SIMMONSStaff Sergeant · October 14, 1967
- CHARLES EDWARD ROBERTSONPetty Officer Third Class · November 19, 1967
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.