The Wall › Panel 10W › Pennsylvania › Ralph Oliver Murphy III
RALPH OLIVER MURPHY III
Corporal · U.S. Army
July 14, 1948 – May 10, 1970
Service recordRalph Oliver Murphy III, of Grove City, Pennsylvania, served as a Corporal in the U.S. Army. He died on May 10, 1970, in Cambodia, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 10W, Line 13 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 10W · Line 13
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)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- July 14, 1948
- Home of record
- Grove City, Pennsylvania (Mercer County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 10, 1970
- Age
- 21
- Country
- Cambodia
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
30 names on the Wall carry the date May 10, 1970. In May 1970, 917 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 127 of its members that month.
He died in Cambodia while the Cambodian incursion was under way. From 29 April to 30 June 1970, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces crossed into Cambodia to attack North Vietnamese base areas and supply caches; the announcement set off campus protests, including at Kent State.
Also on Panel 10W, Line 13
- ROBERT BENJAMIN LUTHERCorporal · May 10, 1970
- CLIFFORD F MACOMBER JRSergeant · May 10, 1970
- JOHN STERLING MELIUSPrivate First Class · May 10, 1970
- THOMAS BRUCE MERRIMANSergeant · May 10, 1970
Same unit, same day
- LELAND MCLANE CHESTNUTSergeant · Panel 10W, Line 10
- RONALD WALTER HOLTPrivate First Class · Panel 10W, Line 12
- TERRY LEE KETTERCaptain · Panel 10W, Line 12
- GERALD JAMES LYNCHStaff Sergeant · Panel 10W, Line 14
From Grove City
- RICHARD BRUCE SPENCECorporal · January 11, 1970
- JAMES ALBERT BAILEYChief Warrant Officer 4 · October 10, 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.