The Wall › Panel 42E › California › Frank Allen Oster
FRANK ALLEN OSTER
Private First Class · U.S. Army
April 12, 1947 – March 4, 1968
Service recordFrank Allen Oster, of Taft, California, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on March 4, 1968, in Gia Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 42E, Line 69 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 42E · 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)
- 25 INF DIV
- Born
- April 12, 1947
- Home of record
- Taft, California (Kern County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 4, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Gia Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
75 names on the Wall carry the date March 4, 1968; ten of them were lost in Gia Dinh Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 25th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 188 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 42E, Line 69
- DENNIS HOWARD MUTZLance Corporal · March 4, 1968
- PATRICK FRANCIS OKEEFECorporal · March 4, 1968
- GARY CONVERS PARKINSONHospitalman · March 4, 1968
- PHILLIP K ROSSFirst Sergeant · March 4, 1968
Same unit, same day
- DAVID KENNETH BRUNINGSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 61
- EZRA GAVINPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 64
- MICHAEL DAVID GEISEPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 65
- WILLIE HAYWARD HUNTERSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 66
- ISRAEL LONZO INGRAMSergeant · Panel 42E, Line 66
- DARREL GENE LEWISSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 68
- LORENCE MARION LUNDBYSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 72
- TIMOTHY RICHARD SCHROEDERCorporal · Panel 42E, Line 72
- EDWARD AUGUST SCHULTZPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 72
From Taft
- HARRY EUGENE THOMASCommander · August 13, 1965
- LARRY STANLEY PIERCEStaff Sergeant · September 20, 1965
- CHESTER LAVERN OBRIEN JRLance Corporal · March 5, 1966
- RALPH LEROY KEELERPrivate First Class · September 4, 1966
- DENNIS PAUL WRIGHTAirman Second Class · November 26, 1966
- DENNIS EARL DYERSergeant · May 17, 1968
- DONALD WARREN MORRISCorporal · July 6, 1968
- DONALD LEE PERRYSergeant · October 26, 1968
- JOHN RAYMOND TAYLORCorporal · June 3, 1969
- LARRY WAYNE RASEYSpecialist Four · July 26, 1970
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.