The Wall › Panel 10W › New York › Richard Alan Patterson
RICHARD ALAN PATTERSON
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
June 22, 1951 – May 13, 1970
Service recordRichard Alan Patterson, of Levittown, New York, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on May 13, 1970, in Cambodia, at age 18. His name is inscribed on Panel 10W, Line 36 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 10W · Line 36
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
- Specialist Four (SP4)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Field Artillery Basic (13A)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- June 22, 1951
- Home of record
- Levittown, New York (Nassau County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 13, 1970
- Age
- 18
- Country
- Cambodia
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
38 names on the Wall carry the date May 13, 1970. In May 1970, 917 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 4th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 42 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 36
- PAUL LAJADA RAMOS JRSergeant · May 13, 1970
- CURTIS EDWARD RINGHOFERSergeant · May 13, 1970
- FREDRICK WAYNE SHEFFIELDWarrant Officer 1 · May 13, 1970
- VAN THOMAS WRAYSpecialist Four · May 13, 1970
Same unit, same day
- CHARLES A BAZZINOTTIFirst Lieutenant · Panel 10W, Line 31
- GARY LEE COXStaff Sergeant · Panel 10W, Line 31
- DAVID ERVIN HUBNERFirst Lieutenant · Panel 10W, Line 33
- PAUL LAJADA RAMOS JRSergeant · Panel 10W, Line 36
- GORDON ALLEN SHAWCorporal · Panel 10W, Line 38
From Levittown
- JAMES RAYMOND ONEILLMajor · February 6, 1963
- MICKY JAMES JOHNSLance Corporal · September 20, 1966
- ROBERT BENJAMIN SANZONESergeant · May 18, 1967
- EDWARD THEODORE MURPHYCorporal · May 22, 1967
- DONALD WALTER HOLLENBACHPrivate First Class · November 22, 1967
- GARY DENNIS FERNANDEZFirst Lieutenant · January 7, 1968
- KERRY RICHARD FOST GEDDESCorporal · January 18, 1968
- STEVEN RICHARD ANDERSONSpecialist Four · February 19, 1968
- STEPHEN FRANK PALAZZOLAPrivate First Class · March 6, 1968
- GERALD COHENStaff Sergeant · April 21, 1968
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.