The Wall › Panel 45E › California › Rafael A Madrigal-Cordero JR
RAFAEL A MADRIGAL-CORDERO JR
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
July 23, 1946 – March 21, 1968
Service recordRafael A Madrigal-Cordero JR, of Los Angeles, California, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on March 21, 1968, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 45E, Line 49 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 45E · Line 49
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
- Specialist Four (SP4)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- July 23, 1946
- Home of record
- Los Angeles, California (Los Angeles County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 21, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
40 names on the Wall carry the date March 21, 1968; 19 of them were lost in Thừa Thiên Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 208 of its members that month.
He died in Thừa Thiên Province while the Tet Offensive was under way. Beginning on the night of 30–31 January 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces attacked more than 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. February 1968 was the deadliest month of the war for Americans.
Also on Panel 45E, Line 49
- GARY LEON HANLINSpecialist Four · March 21, 1968
- RAYMOND LEROY MASONCorporal · March 21, 1968
- JOHN PAUL NAGYPrivate First Class · March 21, 1968
- ANDREW RICHARD SMITH JRPrivate First Class · March 21, 1968
Same unit, same day
- ROBERT WAGNER ATWELLPrivate First Class · Panel 45E, Line 45
- EDGAR BAKER JRPrivate First Class · Panel 45E, Line 45
- DANIEL F BETTENCOURT JRSpecialist Four · Panel 45E, Line 45
- MICHAEL ROGERS CALLAWAYFirst Lieutenant · Panel 45E, Line 46
- MICHAEL LEROY EBERTCorporal · Panel 45E, Line 46
- EDDIE LEE EPHRAIMCorporal · Panel 45E, Line 46
- ODIS LEON GOSNELLSergeant · Panel 45E, Line 46
- JAMES LYNN HENKPrivate First Class · Panel 45E, Line 47
- CHARLES ROBERT LOVEDAHLFirst Lieutenant · Panel 45E, Line 48
- GARY LEON HANLINSpecialist Four · Panel 45E, Line 49
- RAYMOND LEROY MASONCorporal · Panel 45E, Line 49
- ANDREW RICHARD SMITH JRPrivate First Class · Panel 45E, Line 49
- SAMUEL RAY NIXONStaff Sergeant · Panel 45E, Line 50
- FARRIS LEE RICHARDSONSergeant · Panel 45E, Line 50
- WAYNE LEROY ROBERTSPrivate First Class · Panel 45E, Line 50
- JOSEPH EARL ROBINSONPrivate First Class · Panel 45E, Line 50
- RUDOLPHO SANCHEZCorporal · Panel 45E, Line 51
- CARL MICHAEL STITELYStaff Sergeant · Panel 45E, Line 51
- JUSTIN GLASTON TURNBULLCorporal · Panel 45E, Line 52
From Los Angeles
- JAMES WILLIAM MCNALLYTechnical Sergeant · October 23, 1963
- FRANK JOHN HOLGUINPrivate First Class · March 15, 1964
- RICHARD DEAN GOSSCaptain · August 29, 1964
- JOHN LOWERY MCCOYSergeant First Class · September 26, 1964
- JAMES HENRY MCLEANMaster Sergeant · February 9, 1965
- DWIGHT GLENN FRAKESChief Petty Officer · February 24, 1965
- AARON HAROLD WESTERNPrivate First Class · June 16, 1965
- EDWARD JAMES ANDERSPrivate First Class · June 18, 1965
- MAURICE RICHARD HILLPrivate · June 29, 1965
- WILLIAM WARREN HAILLieutenant Colonel · August 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.