The Wall › Panel 17W › Illinois › Dennis Michael Rattin
DENNIS MICHAEL RATTIN
Staff Sergeant · U.S. Army
July 15, 1950 – October 16, 1969
Service recordDennis Michael Rattin, of Bradley, Illinois, served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He was lost on October 16, 1969, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 17W, Line 85 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 17W · Line 85
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
- Staff Sergeant (SSG)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- July 15, 1950
- Home of record
- Bradley, Illinois (Kankakee County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- October 16, 1969
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Presumed Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — Passenger (MC)
- First reported
- Missing
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
15 names on the Wall carry the date October 16, 1969. In October 1969, 600 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Aviation Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 35 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
Also on Panel 17W, Line 85
- ROBERT NICHOLAS DEMGENStaff Sergeant · October 16, 1969
- HAROLD FRANKLIN HYSMITHPrivate First Class · October 16, 1969
- MICHAEL KEATON PRICEPrivate First Class · October 16, 1969
- MICHAEL KENNETH SAWYERStaff Sergeant · October 16, 1969
Same unit, same day
- LAWRENCE RANDOLPH BOOTHMajor · Panel 17W, Line 83
From Bradley
- JOHN CHARLES HOWLANDSergeant · February 9, 1967
- KENNETH CARL JOHNSONLance Corporal · September 10, 1967
- RONALD NEIL SAMPLELance Corporal · January 30, 1969
- DANIEL LEE OVERRIGHTPetty Officer Third Class · February 27, 1969
- ROBERT CHARLES HOUSMANSpecialist Four · December 18, 1969
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.