The Wall › Panel 1W › California › Oscar Herrgesell
OSCAR HERRGESELL
Lieutenant Colonel · U.S. Army
January 5, 1929 – July 29, 1972
Service recordOscar Herrgesell, of Bakersfield, California, served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army. He died on July 29, 1972, in Dinh Tuong Province, South Vietnam, at age 43. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 59 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 59
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
- Lieutenant Colonel (LTC)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- MACV ADVISORS
- Born
- January 5, 1929
- Home of record
- Bakersfield, California (Kern County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- July 29, 1972
- Age
- 43
- Province
- Dinh Tuong
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
Context · from the records
What was happening
Three names on the Wall carry the date July 29, 1972; he was the only one lost in Định Tường Province that day. In July 1972, 53 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
MACV Advisers, his unit in the record, lost 7 of its members that month.
He died in Định Tường Province 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 59
- RONNIE LEE GIPSONSpecialist Four · July 23, 1972
- GARY LESLIE SHANKLieutenant · July 23, 1972
- LARRY FRANK JAGARDFirst Lieutenant · July 26, 1972
- HAROLD MCCASLIN JRWarrant Officer 1 · July 26, 1972
Same unit, same day
- PHILIP DOYLE SELLERSColonel · Panel 1W, Line 60
From Bakersfield
- CLAYTON ALLEN FANNINCaptain · January 10, 1963
- PAUL E RYTTERPrivate First Class · September 18, 1965
- EDWARD JOUJON-ROCHEPrivate First Class · November 12, 1965
- BENNIE FRANK PARKERSergeant · January 30, 1966
- BILLY G FRYMaster Sergeant · February 1, 1966
- ERNESTO DOMINGUEZPrivate First Class · June 6, 1966
- BOBBY ROY HOLLEYLance Corporal · July 19, 1966
- JOHN WHILDEN PERICHPrivate First Class · July 22, 1966
- JAMES BURTON MILLSLieutenant Commander · September 21, 1966
- TOMMY JONESPrivate First Class · December 2, 1966
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.
