The Wall › Panel 12E › Washington › John Michael Riordan
JOHN MICHAEL RIORDAN
Petty Officer Third Class · U.S. Navy
January 1, 1944 – November 10, 1966
Service recordJohn Michael Riordan, of Seattle, Washington, served as a Petty Officer Third Class in the U.S. Navy. He died on November 10, 1966, in North Vietnam, at age 22. His name is inscribed on Panel 12E, Line 52 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 12E · Line 52
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. Navy
- Rank
- Petty Officer Third Class (PO3)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Aviation Structural Mech (Structures) (AMS)
- Unit (as recorded)
- VS 21 USS KEARSARGE CVS 33
- Born
- January 1, 1944
- Home of record
- Seattle, Washington (King County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- November 10, 1966
- Age
- 22
- Country
- North Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
19 names on the Wall carry the date November 10, 1966. In November 1966, 641 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “VS 21 USS KEARSARGE CVS 33”, his unit in the record, lost 4 of its members that month.
He died in North Vietnam while Operation Rolling Thunder was under way. Operation Rolling Thunder (March 1965–November 1968) was the sustained U.S. bombing campaign against North Vietnam, flown by Air Force fighter-bombers from Thailand and Navy aircraft from carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin against some of the densest air defenses in the world.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
Also on Panel 12E, Line 52
- THOMAS COTTON IIILance Corporal · November 10, 1966
- ERIC JOHN SCHODERERPetty Officer Third Class · November 10, 1966
- LOWELL EUGENE SCHULTZPrivate First Class · November 10, 1966
- ROBERT GREGORY WILLIAMSONPrivate First Class · November 10, 1966
Same unit, same day
- WILLIAM THOMAS CARTERLieutenant (junior grade) · Panel 12E, Line 50
- THOMAS JOSEPH MCATEERLieutenant · Panel 12E, Line 51
- ERIC JOHN SCHODERERPetty Officer Third Class · Panel 12E, Line 52
From Seattle
- RICHARD WEBB GEYERMajor · July 6, 1963
- HARRY ALLEN WALLINGSergeant · June 19, 1964
- WILLIAM ROBERT HAMLINSpecialist Five · December 8, 1964
- BERNARD WAYNE DIBBERTLieutenant Colonel · June 1, 1965
- MOON WAI LOCKSpecialist Four · June 28, 1965
- WALTER JOHN ZIMMERPrivate First Class · August 23, 1965
- ROBERT FRANKLIN BARBERLieutenant · September 18, 1965
- STEPHEN GOULD RICHARDSONLieutenant (junior grade) · November 30, 1965
- JACOB DRUMMOND LOGANLieutenant (junior grade) · December 2, 1965
- DANIEL JOHN GUILMETPrivate First Class · December 18, 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.