The Wall › Panel 1W › New York › Melvin Spence Dry
MELVIN SPENCE DRY
Lieutenant · U.S. Navy
March 13, 1946 – June 6, 1972
Service recordMelvin Spence Dry, of Kings Point, New York, served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. He died on June 6, 1972, offshore, South Vietnam, at age 26. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 38 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 38
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
- Lieutenant (LT)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Url Special Warfare (1130)
- Born
- March 13, 1946
- Home of record
- Kings Point, New York (Nassau County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- June 6, 1972
- Age
- 26
- Province
- Offshore
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Ship/Submarine Accident At Sea (MC)
Context · from the records
What was happening
Three names on the Wall carry the date June 6, 1972. In June 1972, 88 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in South 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.
Also on Panel 1W, Line 38
- ANDREW FILLEBRO UNDERWOODLieutenant Colonel · June 5, 1972
- JAMES ALAN FOWLERLieutenant Colonel · June 6, 1972
- JOHN WAYNE SEUELLCaptain · June 6, 1972
- JOSEPH LOUIS MARSHALLStaff Sergeant · June 8, 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.