The Wall › Panel 39E › New York › Randall John Gustafson
RANDALL JOHN GUSTAFSON
Private First Class · U.S. Army
February 2, 1947 – February 14, 1968
Service recordRandall John Gustafson, of Lakewood, New York, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on February 14, 1968, in Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 39E, Line 33 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 39E · Line 33
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
- Regular
- Occupation
- Armor Reconnaissance Specialist (11D)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 11 ARMORED CAV
- Born
- February 2, 1947
- Home of record
- Lakewood, New York (Chautauqua County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 14, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Binh Duong
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
71 names on the Wall carry the date February 14, 1968; six of them were lost in Bình Dương Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “11 ARMORED CAV”, his unit in the record, lost 13 of its members that month.
He died in Bình Dương 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 39E, Line 33
- CARLTON BARRY HALCOMBCorporal · February 14, 1968
- EDMOND HAMPTONPrivate First Class · February 14, 1968
- JERRY ALAN HURDSpecialist Four · February 14, 1968
- THOMAS ALAN JOHNSONStaff Sergeant · February 14, 1968
Same unit, same day
- VITALIO VELA JRSergeant · Panel 39E, Line 41
- JOSEPH ROBERT WEAVER JRPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 41
From Lakewood
- MERLE FLOYD BUTLER IIWarrant Officer 1 · February 24, 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.