The Wall › Panel 39E › Ohio › David Ward Fravel
DAVID WARD FRAVEL
Sergeant · U.S. Army
October 1, 1948 – February 17, 1968
Service recordDavid Ward Fravel, of Columbus, Ohio, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on February 17, 1968, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 39E, Line 70 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 39E · Line 70
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
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- October 1, 1948
- Home of record
- Columbus, Ohio (Multiple County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 17, 1968
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Quang Tri
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
51 names on the Wall carry the date February 17, 1968; 11 of them were lost in Quảng Trị Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 144 of its members that month.
He died in Quảng Trị Province while the siege of Khe Sanh was under way. From 21 January 1968, North Vietnamese divisions besieged the Marine combat base at Khe Sanh and its hill outposts near the Laotian border for 77 days, while U.S. aircraft dropped some 100,000 tons of bombs around it. Operation Pegasus reached the base on 8 April. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
Read the history
Also on Panel 39E, Line 70
- FRANK ARTHUR DAWSONAirman · February 17, 1968
- CHRISTOPHER GEORGE DELGADOFireman · February 17, 1968
- PAUL NICHOLAS DONATOPetty Officer First Class · February 17, 1968
- WILLIAM LLOYD DRAPERPrivate First Class · February 17, 1968
Same unit, same day
- HENRY GREGORYPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 71
- FRANK LEE HOGEPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 72
- ROBERT ALAN JACKSONSergeant · Panel 39E, Line 72
- RICHARD WARREN PERSHINGSecond Lieutenant · Panel 39E, Line 76
From Columbus
- LAWRENCE CLAIR HAMMONDChief Warrant Officer 2 · January 11, 1963
- JOHN FREDRICK STONEBURNERMajor · December 9, 1964
- TOMMY JOE BELCHERSpecialist Four · February 10, 1965
- ANDREW JACOB HINDERMANPrivate First Class · September 11, 1965
- WILLIAM BISHOP WOLFLance Corporal · October 14, 1965
- DENNIS SMITHCorporal · October 30, 1965
- CHARLES THOMAS MOORE JRSpecialist Five · November 17, 1965
- KENNETH POLINGSpecialist Four · November 21, 1965
- MORRIS LEE BARGYCorporal · November 29, 1965
- MORRIS E JENKINSSpecialist Five · December 2, 1965
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.