The Wall › Panel 17W › Texas › Rayford Jerome Hill
RAYFORD JEROME HILL
Petty Officer Third Class · U.S. Navy
October 16, 1947 – October 2, 1969
Service recordRayford Jerome Hill, of Houston, Texas, served as a Petty Officer Third Class in the U.S. Navy. He died on October 2, 1969, in North Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 17W, Line 28 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 17W · Line 28
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. Navy
- Rank
- Petty Officer Third Class (PO3)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Aviation Structural Mech (Structures) (AMS)
- Unit (as recorded)
- FLTACSUPPRON 50 NAS ATSUGI
- Born
- October 16, 1947
- Home of record
- Houston, Texas (Harris County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- October 2, 1969
- Age
- 21
- Country
- North Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
45 names on the Wall carry the date October 2, 1969. In October 1969, 600 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “FLTACSUPPRON 50 NAS ATSUGI”, his unit in the record, lost 6 of its members that month.
The record places this loss in North Vietnam, outside South Vietnam — most often the sign of an air crew lost over the North or the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 17W, Line 28
- RONALD EDWIN HAGSTROMSpecialist Four · October 2, 1969
- EDISON DENNIS HULLPrivate First Class · October 2, 1969
- DELVIN LEE KOHLERPetty Officer Third Class · October 2, 1969
- RONALD WAYNE MONTGOMERYPetty Officer Second Class · October 2, 1969
Same unit, same day
- HERBERT HUGH DILGERLieutenant · Panel 17W, Line 25
- RICHARD ALLEN LIVINGSTONLieutenant · Panel 17W, Line 30
- WILLIAM RAY MOOREPetty Officer Second Class · Panel 17W, Line 30
- PAUL KIERSTEAD MOSERPetty Officer Third Class · Panel 17W, Line 30
- MICHAEL JAMES TYEPetty Officer Third Class · Panel 17W, Line 32
From Houston
- JOSEPH MICHAEL FAHEY JRCaptain · February 11, 1962
- JOHN F SHAUGHNESSY JRCaptain · February 3, 1963
- RICHARD DALE HILLAirman Second Class · December 6, 1963
- HUGHIE DARELL ADAMSMajor · January 7, 1964
- ALBERT LAWRENCE SHIMEKPrivate First Class · April 10, 1964
- BYRON CLARK STONECaptain · August 20, 1964
- JAMES EDWARD HAVEMANNWarrant Officer 1 · October 7, 1964
- ROBERT GRAHAM BELLMajor · May 16, 1965
- LEROY ANTHONY BOURGEOISPrivate First Class · June 18, 1965
- ROBERT FILMORE BATSONSergeant · August 18, 1965
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.