The Wall › Panel 34E › Michigan › Kenneth Harry Widon
KENNETH HARRY WIDON
Petty Officer Second Class · U.S. Navy
June 24, 1940 – January 11, 1968
Service recordKenneth Harry Widon, of Detroit, Michigan, served as a Petty Officer Second Class in the U.S. Navy. He died on January 11, 1968, in Laos, at age 27. His name is inscribed on Panel 34E, Line 33 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 34E · Line 33
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 Second Class (PO2)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Photographer's Mate (PH)
- Unit (as recorded)
- OBSRON 67
- Born
- June 24, 1940
- Home of record
- Detroit, Michigan (Wayne County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 11, 1968
- Age
- 27
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
Context · from the records
What was happening
32 names on the Wall carry the date January 11, 1968. In January 1968, 1,546 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “OBSRON 67”, his unit in the record, lost 9 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 34E, Line 33
- EUGENE MELVIN WILLIAMSSpecialist Four · January 11, 1968
- WILLIAM PAUL BACKERPrivate First Class · January 12, 1968
- JOHN ELDREW BARRONCorporal · January 12, 1968
- KENNETH WILLIAM BARSLOWSeaman Apprentice · January 12, 1968
Same unit, same day
- DENIS LEON ANDERSONLieutenant (junior grade) · Panel 34E, Line 27
- ARTHUR CHARLES BUCKLieutenant (junior grade) · Panel 34E, Line 27
- DONALD NELLIS THORESENPetty Officer Second Class · Panel 34E, Line 28
- RICHARD MICHAEL MANCINIPetty Officer Second Class · Panel 34E, Line 30
- DELBERT AUSTIN OLSONCommander · Panel 34E, Line 31
- MICHAEL LAND ROBERTSPetty Officer Second Class · Panel 34E, Line 31
- GALE ROBERT SIOWPetty Officer Third Class · Panel 34E, Line 31
- PHILIP PAUL STEVENSLieutenant (junior grade) · Panel 34E, Line 32
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.