The Wall › Panel 28W › Michigan › Joseph F Willis
JOSEPH F WILLIS
First Lieutenant · U.S. Army
April 18, 1943 – March 26, 1969
Service recordJoseph F Willis, of Westland, Michigan, served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He died on March 26, 1969, in Pleiku Province, South Vietnam, at age 25. His name is inscribed on Panel 28W, Line 55 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 28W · Line 55
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
Did you know him? Family members and friends are invited to share a photograph or a memory. Nothing is posted until it has been reviewed.
Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- First Lieutenant (1LT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Air Observation Pilot (1981)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- April 18, 1943
- Home of record
- Westland, Michigan (Wayne County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 26, 1969
- Age
- 25
- Province
- Pleiku
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
71 names on the Wall carry the date March 26, 1969; five of them were lost in Pleiku Province. In March 1969, 1,553 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Aviation Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 44 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 28W, Line 55
- ROBERT OLIVER WELLSSergeant · March 26, 1969
- STEVE RANDAL WHITAKERPrivate First Class · March 26, 1969
- LAWRENCE M WILHELM JRStaff Sergeant · March 26, 1969
- DONNIS GLEN WILLISPrivate First Class · March 26, 1969
Same unit, same day
- LARRY ALAN GILLASPIESpecialist Four · Panel 28W, Line 46
- JOHN MICHAEL TURNERWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 28W, Line 54
From Westland
- DENNIS GLENN PRINCESergeant · June 2, 1969
- MICHAEL ANTHONY BLONDINSpecialist Five · March 29, 1970
- REFUGIO THOMAS TERANStaff Sergeant · May 6, 1970
- ARLIE SPENCER JRSergeant · May 15, 1970
- JOSEPH MICHAEL GIUSTACorporal · June 2, 1970
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.