The Wall › Panel 39E › New York › Francis Scott Bechtold
FRANCIS SCOTT BECHTOLD
Private First Class · U.S. Army
November 20, 1947 – February 17, 1968
Service recordFrancis Scott Bechtold, of Churchville, New York, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on February 17, 1968, in Gia Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 39E, Line 69 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 39E · Line 69
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
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 199 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- November 20, 1947
- Home of record
- Churchville, New York (Monroe County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 17, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Gia Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
51 names on the Wall carry the date February 17, 1968; three of them were lost in Gia Dinh Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 199th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 42 of its members that month.
He died in Gia Dinh Province while the Tet Offensive was under way. Beginning on the night of 30–31 January 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces attacked more than 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. February 1968 was the deadliest month of the war for Americans.
Also on Panel 39E, Line 69
- CLAYBORN WILLIS ASHBY JRPetty Officer Second Class · February 17, 1968
- DAVID ARNOLD BERNHEISELPrivate First Class · February 17, 1968
- CHESTER LEROY COONSPetty Officer Second Class · February 17, 1968
- ROGER LYNN COUICKPrivate First Class · February 17, 1968
Same unit, same day
- GEORGE MATTHEW KIHNLEYStaff Sergeant · Panel 39E, Line 73
- SAMUEL JOHN SANTANGELOPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 77
From Churchville
- JAMES EDWARD WIDENERPrivate First Class · June 11, 1967
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.