The Wall › Panel 3E › Virginia › Ralph Windall Cartwright
RALPH WINDALL CARTWRIGHT
Private First Class · U.S. Army
April 23, 1940 – November 15, 1965
Service recordRalph Windall Cartwright, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on November 15, 1965, in South Vietnam, at age 25. His name is inscribed on Panel 3E, Line 53 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 3E · Line 53
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
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Redstone Electronic Mechanic (21B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- April 23, 1940
- Home of record
- Virginia Beach, Virginia (Virginia Beach (City) County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- November 15, 1965
- Age
- 25
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
66 names on the Wall carry the date November 15, 1965. In November 1965, 545 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 318 of its members that month.
He died in South Vietnam while the Battle of the Ia Đrăng Valley was under way. In the Ia Đrăng Valley (14–18 November 1965), battalions of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) fought North Vietnamese regulars at Landing Zones X-Ray and Albany — the first major battle between the two armies and the first great test of the helicopter war. The record gives the date and his unit, the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), which fought in the battle, but not the exact place.
Read the history
Also on Panel 3E, Line 53
- NATHANIEL BYRDSpecialist Four · November 15, 1965
- DAVID JAMES CARNEVALEPrivate First Class · November 15, 1965
- LEO CURTIS CHASE JRPrivate First Class · November 15, 1965
- SIDNEY COHENStaff Sergeant · November 15, 1965
Same unit, same day
- THOMAS J BARRETT JRStaff Sergeant · Panel 3E, Line 51
- RAFAEL ANGEL BERLANGASpecialist Four · Panel 3E, Line 51
- RAMON BERNARDSergeant · Panel 3E, Line 51
- ANTONIO RA BERNARD-ROBLESStaff Sergeant · Panel 3E, Line 51
- GAIL LEE DAVISPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 51
- BERNARD BIRENBAUMPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 52
- TIMOTHY MORGAN BLAKESecond Lieutenant · Panel 3E, Line 52
- JOHNNIE LEE BOSWELLPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 52
- JOHN FRANCIS BRENNANPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 52
- THOMAS EDWARD BURLILESpecialist Four · Panel 3E, Line 52
- NATHANIEL BYRDSpecialist Four · Panel 3E, Line 53
- DAVID JAMES CARNEVALEPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 53
- LEO CURTIS CHASE JRPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 53
- SIDNEY COHENStaff Sergeant · Panel 3E, Line 53
- ELIAS ALVAREZ-BUZOSergeant · Panel 3E, Line 54
- CHARLEY HOLTON COLLIERPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 54
- WILBUR CURRY JRStaff Sergeant · Panel 3E, Line 54
- ROBERT ARNOLD DAVISPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 54
- DOMINIC A DEANGELISPrivate First Class · Panel 3E, Line 54
- HILARIO DELA PAZ JRSpecialist Four · Panel 3E, Line 55
- PARIS DALE DUSCHSergeant · Panel 3E, Line 55
- BILLY RONALD ELLIOTTStaff Sergeant · Panel 3E, Line 55
- RONALD DENNIS FERGUSONSpecialist Four · Panel 3E, Line 55
- ABRAHAM LINCOLN FIELDSStaff Sergeant · Panel 3E, Line 55
From Virginia Beach
- WILLIAM A BURNETTPrivate First Class · December 29, 1965
- MARVIN BONNEY SMITH JRSpecialist Four · January 11, 1966
- ALLEN THOMAS WHEATONPrivate First Class · May 12, 1966
- RONALD EDWARD ANGESpecialist Four · May 21, 1966
- DENNIS R BALFOURPrivate First Class · September 10, 1966
- STERLING SADLER WOODSCorporal · May 10, 1967
- OTTO ANDREAE SEAMANS JRWarrant Officer 1 · May 18, 1967
- ROBERT THOMAS BOYKINPrivate First Class · May 20, 1967
- HAROLD EARL YOUNGSpecialist Five · July 27, 1967
- HERMAN C BROEGELER IIILance Corporal · August 1, 1967
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.