The Wall › Panel 17W › New Jersey › Ralph Custode
RALPH CUSTODE
Sergeant · U.S. Army
October 13, 1948 – October 18, 1969
Service recordRalph Custode, of Colonia, New Jersey, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on October 18, 1969, in South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 17W, Line 87 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 17W · Line 87
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
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- October 13, 1948
- Home of record
- Colonia, New Jersey (Middlesex County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- October 18, 1969
- Age
- 21
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Illness
- Circumstance
- Infectious Disease
Context · from the records
What was happening
Ten names on the Wall carry the date October 18, 1969. In October 1969, 600 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 63 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 17W, Line 87
- WILLIAM THOMAS HANEYSpecialist Four · October 17, 1969
- DAVID LAMPREY NICHOLASLieutenant (junior grade) · October 17, 1969
- CHRISTOPHER S STUEWESpecialist Four · October 17, 1969
- LEONARD DEAN COOPERPrivate First Class · October 18, 1969
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.