The Wall › Panel 68E › California › Gary William Purcell
GARY WILLIAM PURCELL
Private First Class · U.S. Marine Corps
October 27, 1948 – May 24, 1968
Service recordGary William Purcell, of Torrance, California, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on May 24, 1968, in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 68E, Line 6 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 68E · Line 6
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. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Rifleman (0311)
- Born
- October 27, 1948
- Home of record
- Torrance, California (Los Angeles County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 24, 1968
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Quang Nam
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Artillery/Mortar/Rocket
Context · from the records
What was happening
76 names on the Wall carry the date May 24, 1968; 18 of them were lost in Quảng Nam Province. In May 1968, 2,418 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
Also on Panel 68E, Line 6
- GERALD THOMAS PARMETERSergeant · May 24, 1968
- JOSEPH J PASSAVANTI IIICorporal · May 24, 1968
- GARY LEE PATTERSONSergeant · May 24, 1968
- ROBERT MILTON PAULKChief Warrant Officer 2 · May 24, 1968
From Torrance
- WALLACE KENJI MATAYOSHISpecialist Four · January 30, 1966
- NORMAN BYRON WENSELConstructionman · January 4, 1967
- EDWARD JOSEPH ERNSTPrivate First Class · February 18, 1967
- MICHAEL BOYD CARTERLance Corporal · February 23, 1967
- PAUL WAYNE RATLIFFCorporal · May 19, 1967
- STEPHEN LEE GRANTLance Corporal · September 6, 1967
- LARRY KEITH WILLIAMSPrivate First Class · November 13, 1967
- CHARLES JOHN EISENACHERStaff Sergeant · February 6, 1968
- THOMAS CLAY WRIGHTSpecialist Five · February 27, 1968
- LARRY MUNOZCorporal · March 6, 1968
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.