The Wall › Panel 1W › New York › Jonathan Bruce Bednarek
JONATHAN BRUCE BEDNAREK
Captain · U.S. Air Force
October 18, 1948 – May 18, 1972
Service recordJonathan Bruce Bednarek, of Greenlawn, New York, served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on May 18, 1972, in North Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 27 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 27
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. Air Force
- Rank
- Captain (CAPT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Weapon Systems Officer (1555C)
- Born
- October 18, 1948
- Home of record
- Greenlawn, New York (Suffolk County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- May 18, 1972
- Country
- North Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
Context · from the records
What was happening
Two names on the Wall carry the date May 18, 1972. In May 1972, 113 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in North Vietnam 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.
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
On the Wall
Also on Panel 1W, Line 27
- JOSEPH PAUL NOLAN JRCaptain · May 16, 1971
- JAMES LATHONSergeant · May 17, 1972
- CYRIL HYMAN MADISONSpecialist Four · May 17, 1972
- DAVID LEE WAGNERTechnical Sergeant · May 17, 1972
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.