The Wall › Panel 39E › Pennsylvania › Joseph Lynn Ostifin
JOSEPH LYNN OSTIFIN
Corporal · U.S. Army
October 1, 1946 – February 12, 1968
Service recordJoseph Lynn Ostifin, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, served as a Corporal in the U.S. Army. He died on February 12, 1968, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 39E, Line 10 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 39E · Line 10
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
- Corporal (CPL)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- October 1, 1946
- Home of record
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Allegheny County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 12, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
73 names on the Wall carry the date February 12, 1968; 11 of them were lost in Thừa Thiên Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 168 of its members that month.
He died in Thừa Thiên Province while the Battle of Huế was under way. At Huế (31 January–2 March 1968), Marines, soldiers of the 1st Cavalry and 101st Airborne divisions and South Vietnamese troops fought house to house for 26 days to retake the old imperial capital, the longest urban battle of the war. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
Also on Panel 39E, Line 10
- ROBERT MICHAEL NIXSpecialist Four · February 12, 1968
- DONALD BRYAN OLSENPrivate First Class · February 12, 1968
- RALPH EDWARD PETERSSpecialist Four · February 12, 1968
- JOHN CHAD PRICESergeant · February 12, 1968
Same unit, same day
- MICHAEL MORRIS ALLEYSpecialist Four · Panel 39E, Line 1
- GARY RAY CATESCorporal · Panel 39E, Line 3
- LEO PAUL DUNSMORECorporal · Panel 39E, Line 4
- LESLIE JAMES FROLICHPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 4
- RONALD ALBERT GREENWALDSpecialist Four · Panel 39E, Line 5
- LARRY L HACKLEMANCorporal · Panel 39E, Line 5
- ARNOLD EDWARD MELISHSpecialist Four · Panel 39E, Line 9
- THOMAS DEWITT POOLECorporal · Panel 39E, Line 11
- ROBERT WAYNE PRINEFirst Lieutenant · Panel 39E, Line 11
- RONALD D ROACHSergeant · Panel 39E, Line 11
- WILLIAM A SIMSPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 14
- JOHN HOWARD SUYDAM IIISpecialist Four · Panel 39E, Line 14
- RANDALL ALAN WOOLCOTTPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 15
From Pittsburgh
- CLEVELAND WILLIAM GORDONMajor · January 7, 1964
- THEODORE ALAN WINOWITCHPrivate First Class · December 30, 1964
- CHARLES FREDRICK CLYDESDALELieutenant (junior grade) · March 15, 1965
- WILLIAM DONAVAN BENNINGStaff Sergeant · May 11, 1965
- FRANK HUFFORD BLANKSergeant · August 18, 1965
- JOHN L JEMISONPrivate First Class · August 18, 1965
- FRANK JOSEPH NADANY JRSergeant First Class · October 31, 1965
- RUSSELL EARL HAMMONDSergeant First Class · November 5, 1965
- HARRY FRANCIS JEDRZEJEWSKIPlatoon Sergeant · November 17, 1965
- RONALD JOSEPH LOERLEINSergeant · November 25, 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.