The Wall › Panel 1W › Nebraska › Dean Kent Leach
DEAN KENT LEACH
Warrant Officer 1 · U.S. Army
August 30, 1952 – May 19, 1972
Service recordDean Kent Leach, of Arnold, Nebraska, served as a Warrant Officer 1 in the U.S. Army. He died on May 19, 1972, in Phuoc Long Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 28 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 28
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
- Warrant Officer 1 (WO1)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Utility/Observation Helicopter Pilot (100B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- August 30, 1952
- Home of record
- Arnold, Nebraska (Custer County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 19, 1972
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Phuoc Long
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
Two names on the Wall carry the date May 19, 1972; he was the only one lost in Phuoc Long Province that day. In May 1972, 113 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 41 of its members that month.
He died in Phuoc Long Province while the Easter Offensive was under way. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched its largest offensive since 1968, attacking across the DMZ, toward An Lộc and into the Central Highlands. By then few U.S. ground troops remained; American advisers and air power fought alongside the South Vietnamese.
Also on Panel 1W, Line 28
- WESLEY DALLAS RATZELCaptain · October 20, 1971
- CLYDE CURTIS LOVECaptain · May 18, 1972
- SANTIAGO HERRERA ESCOBARSpecialist Four · May 19, 1972
- CLARENCE PAUL LEWISFirst Lieutenant · May 21, 1972
Same unit, same day
- SANTIAGO HERRERA ESCOBARSpecialist Four · Panel 1W, Line 28
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.