The Wall › Panel 4W › New York › Donald Paul Knutsen
DONALD PAUL KNUTSEN
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
September 25, 1949 – March 22, 1971
Service recordDonald Paul Knutsen, of Buffalo, New York, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on March 22, 1971, in Laos, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 4W, Line 67 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 4W · Line 67
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 Four (SP4)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Utility Helicopter Repairer (67N)
- Unit (as recorded)
- AMERICAL DIV
- Born
- September 25, 1949
- Home of record
- Buffalo, New York (Erie County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 22, 1971
- Age
- 21
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
24 names on the Wall carry the date March 22, 1971. In March 1971, 429 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The Americal Division, his unit in the record, lost 50 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while Operation Lam Son 719 was under way. In Lam Son 719 (February–March 1971), South Vietnamese troops drove into Laos to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail, carried and supported by U.S. helicopters and aircraft; more than 100 U.S. helicopters were lost.
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
On the Wall
Also on Panel 4W, Line 67
- MICHAEL LEO HARRISSpecialist Four · March 22, 1971
- DAVID ROY HAYWARDSpecialist Four · March 22, 1971
- LARRY DEWAYNE LEAMONSpecialist Four · March 22, 1971
- JEROME EDWARD LEROYSpecialist Four · March 22, 1971
Same unit, same day
- TERRY WAYNE DOANSpecialist Four · Panel 4W, Line 65
- REGINALD DAVID CLEVEWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 4W, Line 66
- WALTER RAY HALLSpecialist Four · Panel 4W, Line 66
- LARRY DEWAYNE LEAMONSpecialist Four · Panel 4W, Line 67
- JEROME EDWARD LEROYSpecialist Four · Panel 4W, Line 67
- JOHN GROVE TRAVER IIIWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 4W, Line 69
From Buffalo
- RICHARD MARION SROKACaptain · July 13, 1964
- KENNETH DAVID STANKIEWICZLance Corporal · August 18, 1965
- THEODORE ROOSEVELT CHAMBLEYStaff Sergeant · October 16, 1965
- HENRY JOHN PAWLICK JRSpecialist Four · November 7, 1965
- THOMAS GEORGE HENSONSpecialist Four · November 12, 1965
- WILBUR CURRY JRStaff Sergeant · November 15, 1965
- RICHARD P CORSONPrivate First Class · March 4, 1966
- HENRY JAMES DOSTERCorporal · March 5, 1966
- DUANE KENNETH HEISERPrivate First Class · March 15, 1966
- MICHAEL KELLY MCGUIREAirman · February 16, 1966
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.