The Wall › Panel 44E › Colorado › Ralph Dean Hirschler JR
RALPH DEAN HIRSCHLER JR
Corporal · U.S. Army
June 9, 1946 – March 11, 1968
Service recordRalph Dean Hirschler JR, of Lamar, Colorado, served as a Corporal in the U.S. Army. He died on March 11, 1968, in Dinh Tuong Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 44E, Line 17 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 44E · Line 17
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
- Corporal (CPL)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 9 INF DIV
- Born
- June 9, 1946
- Home of record
- Lamar, Colorado (Prowers County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 11, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Dinh Tuong
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
54 names on the Wall carry the date March 11, 1968; three of them were lost in Định Tường Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 9th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 101 of its members that month.
He died in Định Tường 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 44E, Line 17
- OSCAR G GUTIERREZSpecialist Five · March 11, 1968
- WILLIS ROZELLE HALLTechnical Sergeant · March 11, 1968
- WILLIAM SPRAGGINS HUNTPrivate First Class · March 11, 1968
- BENNY KUMIYAMA SANCHEZCorporal · March 11, 1968
Same unit, same day
- THOMAS ALTON FERGUSONPrivate First Class · Panel 44E, Line 16
- DONALD STANDLEY GILLMANSpecialist Four · Panel 44E, Line 16
From Lamar
- GEORGE M HARRINGTONSpecialist Five · April 6, 1967
- FREDERICK LEE MANLYCorporal · January 2, 1968
- RUSSELL ALLEN SHIELDSFirst Lieutenant · February 6, 1970
- LAVOY DON MCVEYCaptain · March 2, 1970
- JOHN MAREZ CHAVARRIACorporal · March 4, 1970
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.