The Wall › Panel 1W › Oklahoma › Gary Bruce Farris
GARY BRUCE FARRIS
First Lieutenant · U.S. Army
February 18, 1949 – May 25, 1972
Service recordGary Bruce Farris, of Shawnee, Oklahoma, served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He died on May 25, 1972, in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, at age 23. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 32 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 32
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
- First Lieutenant (1LT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Air Observation Pilot (1981)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- February 18, 1949
- Home of record
- Shawnee, Oklahoma (Pottawatomie County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 25, 1972
- Age
- 23
- Province
- Kontum
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
Six names on the Wall carry the date May 25, 1972; three of them were lost in Kon Tum Province. In May 1972, 113 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Aviation Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 22 of its members that month.
He died in Kon Tum Province while the Easter Offensive was under way. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched its largest offensive since 1968, attacking across the DMZ, toward An Lộc and into the Central Highlands. By then few U.S. ground troops remained; American advisers and air power fought alongside the South Vietnamese.
Also on Panel 1W, Line 32
- FRANCIS CARL BROCKMAN IIISergeant · May 25, 1972
- DARYL ROY KUNZLERFirst Lieutenant · May 25, 1972
- JAIME PACHECOSpecialist Four · May 25, 1972
- ROBERT FRANKLIN WILCOXSONFirst Lieutenant · May 25, 1972
Same unit, same day
- DARYL ROY KUNZLERFirst Lieutenant · Panel 1W, Line 32
- ROBERT FRANKLIN WILCOXSONFirst Lieutenant · Panel 1W, Line 32
From Shawnee
- WAYNE WARREN HUMPHRIESSpecialist Four · November 8, 1965
- JOHN ROBERT LAWRENCEFirst Lieutenant · February 22, 1968
- PETER EARL POWELLSpecialist Five · April 11, 1968
- RONALD VINCENT HARBERTLance Corporal · June 29, 1968
- MELFORD KEITH BLAKELYPrivate First Class · January 10, 1969
- ROY EUGENE LYNNPrivate First Class · March 3, 1969
- MILFORD EUDENE COBBStaff Sergeant · May 23, 1969
- DONALD LYNN WANNChief Warrant Officer 2 · June 1, 1971
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.