The Wall › Panel 16E › Michigan › Gordon Ray Rightler
GORDON RAY RIGHTLER
Private First Class · U.S. Army
October 19, 1946 – March 12, 1967
Service recordGordon Ray Rightler, of Detroit, Michigan, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on March 12, 1967, in Gia Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 16E, Line 70 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 16E · Line 70
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
- Field Artillery Basic (13A)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 9 INF DIV
- Born
- October 19, 1946
- Home of record
- Detroit, Michigan (Wayne County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 12, 1967
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Gia Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Died of Wounds
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — Passenger (MC)
Context · from the records
What was happening
24 names on the Wall carry the date March 12, 1967; three of them were lost in Gia Dinh Province. In March 1967, 1,091 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 9th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 82 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 16E, Line 70
- DANNY DAVID RHOADSSpecialist Four · March 12, 1967
- VICTOR JOSEPH RUGGERO JRPrivate First Class · March 12, 1967
- ROOSEVELT SCOTTPrivate First Class · March 12, 1967
- DOUGLAS WAYNE STEGALLPrivate First Class · March 12, 1967
Same unit, same day
- CHARLES DUANE SAYLORSpecialist Four · Panel 16E, Line 67
From Detroit
- SAMUEL EUGENE HURDAirman Third Class · January 3, 1964
- LEO BERT ABRAMOSKICaptain · July 28, 1964
- GEORGE PAUL ZUPANCICCorporal · June 26, 1965
- MARSHALL DANIEL HOLMANPrivate First Class · July 9, 1965
- ELIAS BELL JRCorporal · July 13, 1965
- ARTHUR F HAMMARSTROM JRLieutenant Colonel · July 24, 1965
- JAMES THOMAS CLARKPrivate · August 17, 1965
- BRUCE JAMES HENRICHPrivate First Class · August 18, 1965
- ROBERT TAGLIONESergeant · August 18, 1965
- MERRILL LAGENE LANTRYCorporal · September 2, 1965
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.