The Wall › Panel 3E › Illinois › Donald Carl Peterson
DONALD CARL PETERSON
Specialist Five · U.S. Army
March 18, 1941 – November 17, 1965
Service recordDonald Carl Peterson, of Chicago, Illinois, served as a Specialist Five in the U.S. Army. He died on November 17, 1965, in South Vietnam, at age 24. His name is inscribed on Panel 3E, Line 89 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 3E · Line 89
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
- Specialist Five (SP5)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Medical Specialist (91B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- March 18, 1941
- Home of record
- Chicago, Illinois (Cook County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- November 17, 1965
- Age
- 24
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
161 names on the Wall carry the date November 17, 1965. In November 1965, 545 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 318 of its members that month.
He died in South Vietnam while the Battle of the Ia Đrăng Valley was under way. In the Ia Đrăng Valley (14–18 November 1965), battalions of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) fought North Vietnamese regulars at Landing Zones X-Ray and Albany — the first major battle between the two armies and the first great test of the helicopter war. The record gives the date and his unit, the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), which fought in the battle, but not the exact place.
Read the history
Also on Panel 3E, Line 89
- SHERMAN ELDRIDGE OTISPrivate First Class · November 17, 1965
- RICHARD DEANE OTTStaff Sergeant · November 17, 1965
- ISMAEL JUSON PAREDESSpecialist Five · November 17, 1965
- AUGUSTIN CHAVEZ PAREDEZSergeant · November 17, 1965
Same unit, same day
- OSVALDO AMODIASSergeant · Panel 3E, Line 67
- CHARLIE ANDERSSpecialist Four · Panel 3E, Line 67
- EARL DUBOIS AULLSecond Lieutenant · Panel 3E, Line 68
- LAVINE JOHN BANKSSergeant · Panel 3E, Line 68
- OSCAR BARKER JRSpecialist Four · Panel 3E, Line 68
- JIMMIE WOODROW BARTONPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 68
- CHARLES WILLIAM BASSMaster Sergeant · Panel 3E, Line 69
- HARLEY DANIEL BECKWORTHStaff Sergeant · Panel 3E, Line 69
- SNYDER PATTISHALL BEMBRYPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 69
- CLARENCE VEREN BEVERHOUDTStaff Sergeant · Panel 3E, Line 69
- DENNIS WALTER BLACKPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 69
- ROLLIE LEE BOLDENSpecialist Four · Panel 3E, Line 70
- KENNETH CHARLES BOLICHSpecialist Four · Panel 3E, Line 70
- JIMMY FLOYD BORENPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 70
- THOMAS GLENN BRANDESPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 70
- RALPH WAYNE BROWNPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 71
- KENNETH EDWARD RAY BURCHSpecialist Four · Panel 3E, Line 71
- BARRY TYSON BURNITESpecialist Four · Panel 3E, Line 71
- WILLIAM RUSSELL BURTON JRPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 71
- BRIAN FIZTGERALD CARLQUISTPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 72
- DANNY E CARLTONPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 72
- RUBEN GARZA CHAVEZPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 72
- FRANCISCO CONCEPCION JRPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 72
- CHARLES ALLEN COLLINSSpecialist Four · Panel 3E, Line 73
From Chicago
- MELVIN LESTER WATERSPrivate · February 10, 1965
- WILLIAM RALPH FUHRMANPetty Officer Third Class · April 23, 1965
- RAYMOND LEON HORNCorporal · May 1, 1965
- ARTHUR C JEPSON JRCaptain · May 16, 1965
- DONALD CLAY DEDMONStaff Sergeant · June 10, 1965
- ROGER PELIKANLance Corporal · July 17, 1965
- HARRY COHENTechnical Sergeant · July 19, 1969
- CURTIS LOCKHARTPrivate First Class · July 30, 1965
- EDWARD KOPECPrivate First Class · August 18, 1965
- JAMES LEO WHITELance Corporal · August 19, 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.