The Wall › Panel 1W › Alabama › Gerald Douglas Spradlin
GERALD DOUGLAS SPRADLIN
Warrant Officer 1 · U.S. Army
September 28, 1952 – May 29, 1972
Service recordGerald Douglas Spradlin, of Ft Rucker, Alabama, served as a Warrant Officer 1 in the U.S. Army. He died on May 29, 1972, in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 33 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 33
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
- Warrant Officer 1 (WO1)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Utility/Observation Helicopter Pilot (100B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- September 28, 1952
- Home of record
- Ft Rucker, Alabama (Multiple County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 29, 1972
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Kontum
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
Context · from the records
What was happening
Two names on the Wall carry the date May 29, 1972; two 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 33
- HENRY HOOKER STRONG JRCaptain · May 25, 1972
- RICHARD ROLAND ARSENAULTStaff Sergeant · May 26, 1972
- CHARLES DONNETTE GIPSONStaff Sergeant · May 26, 1972
- LARRY KANE MORROWSergeant · May 29, 1972
Same unit, same day
- LARRY KANE MORROWSergeant · Panel 1W, Line 33
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.