The Wall › Panel 6W › West Virginia › Dencil Ray Blankenship
DENCIL RAY BLANKENSHIP
Sergeant First Class · U.S. Army
May 17, 1942 – October 19, 1970
Service recordDencil Ray Blankenship, of Panther, West Virginia, served as a Sergeant First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on October 19, 1970, in Binh Thuy Province, South Vietnam, at age 28. His name is inscribed on Panel 6W, Line 8 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 6W · Line 8
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 First Class (SFC)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Indirect Fire Infantryman (11C)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- May 17, 1942
- Home of record
- Panther, West Virginia (Mcdowell County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- October 19, 1970
- Age
- 28
- Province
- Binh Thuy
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Other Accident
Context · from the records
What was happening
13 names on the Wall carry the date October 19, 1970; two of them were lost in Binh Thuy Province. In October 1970, 318 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 31 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 6W, Line 8
- FREDERICK LEROY NUTTERPetty Officer Second Class · October 18, 1970
- DONALD BRITTON SOWELLPrivate · October 18, 1970
- DOUGLAS FRANK STRAITSpecialist Six · October 18, 1970
- DAVID EUGENE BRYANTSergeant · October 19, 1970
Same unit, same day
- DAVID EUGENE BRYANTSergeant · Panel 6W, Line 8
- CLEATIS LYNN BURGESSCorporal · Panel 6W, Line 9
- DANIEL LESLIE FRIESCorporal · Panel 6W, Line 9
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.