The Wall › Panel 16W › New York › Rexford John Dewispelaere
REXFORD JOHN DEWISPELAERE
Chief Master Sergeant · U.S. Air Force
September 9, 1945 – November 24, 1969
Service recordRexford John Dewispelaere, of Penfield, New York, served as a Chief Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on November 24, 1969, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 16W, Line 116 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 16W · Line 116
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. Air Force
- Rank
- Chief Master Sergeant (CMSGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- 7 AF
- Born
- September 9, 1945
- Home of record
- Penfield, New York (Monroe County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- November 24, 1969
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
Context · from the records
What was happening
35 names on the Wall carry the date November 24, 1969. In November 1969, 660 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “7 AF”, his unit in the record, lost 4 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
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 16W, Line 116
- ROGER ALLEN DEDIESergeant · November 24, 1969
- PHILLIP ALLEN DUNCANSpecialist Four · November 24, 1969
- CHARLES RICHARD FELLENZChief Master Sergeant · November 24, 1969
- LAURENCE ATWOOD YOUNGSpecialist Four · November 24, 1969
Same unit, same day
- MICHAEL DIMITRI BALAMOTIMajor · Panel 16W, Line 114
- DONALD LEE WRIGHTSenior Master Sergeant · Panel 16W, Line 120
From Penfield
- THOMAS GEORGE KINGSecond Lieutenant · July 2, 1967
- ROBERT NELSON FUNKStaff Sergeant · October 26, 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.