The Wall › Panel 3E › Illinois › Lester Joseph Kersten
LESTER JOSEPH KERSTEN
Private First Class · U.S. Army
January 23, 1944 – November 27, 1965
Service recordLester Joseph Kersten, of Chicago, Illinois, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on November 27, 1965, in South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 3E, Line 116 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 3E · Line 116
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
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Radio Operator (05B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- MACV ADVISORS
- Born
- January 23, 1944
- Home of record
- Chicago, Illinois (Cook County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- November 27, 1965
- Age
- 21
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
Context · from the records
What was happening
Nine names on the Wall carry the date November 27, 1965. In November 1965, 545 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
MACV Advisers, his unit in the record, lost 10 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 3E, Line 116
- EDWARD JAMES MONAHAN JRLance Corporal · August 24, 1965
- CARL AVERY GRAYFirst Lieutenant · November 27, 1965
- GUY HECTOR MCCAREYMajor · November 27, 1965
- JAMES WILLIAM MCNEELYCaptain · November 27, 1965
- TONY VALEPrivate First Class · November 27, 1965
Same unit, same day
- WILLIAM HAROLD CRISMANSergeant · Panel 3E, Line 115
- JOHN M GRASSO JRPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 115
- PHILLIP JOHN VANDER WEGSergeant First Class · Panel 3E, Line 115
- CARL AVERY GRAYFirst Lieutenant · Panel 3E, Line 116
- GUY HECTOR MCCAREYMajor · Panel 3E, Line 116
- JAMES WILLIAM MCNEELYCaptain · Panel 3E, Line 116
From Chicago
- MELVIN LESTER WATERSPrivate · February 10, 1965
- WILLIAM RALPH FUHRMANPetty Officer Third Class · April 23, 1965
- RAYMOND LEON HORNCorporal · May 1, 1965
- ARTHUR C JEPSON JRCaptain · May 16, 1965
- DONALD CLAY DEDMONStaff Sergeant · June 10, 1965
- ROGER PELIKANLance Corporal · July 17, 1965
- HARRY COHENTechnical Sergeant · July 19, 1969
- CURTIS LOCKHARTPrivate First Class · July 30, 1965
- EDWARD KOPECPrivate First Class · August 18, 1965
- JAMES LEO WHITELance Corporal · August 19, 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.