The Wall › Panel 46E › California › Richard Allen Friend
RICHARD ALLEN FRIEND
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
November 27, 1946 – March 24, 1968
Service recordRichard Allen Friend, of San Diego, California, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on March 24, 1968, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 46E, Line 4 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 46E · Line 4
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
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- November 27, 1946
- Home of record
- San Diego, California (San Diego County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 24, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
58 names on the Wall carry the date March 24, 1968; 21 of them were lost in Thừa Thiên Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 208 of its members that month.
He died in Thừa Thiên 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 46E, Line 4
- CHARLES E DAVENPORT IIPrivate First Class · March 24, 1968
- JOHN JOSEPH ENZINNACorporal · March 24, 1968
- FRANKIE LEE FARROWPrivate First Class · March 24, 1968
- SAMUEL EDWARD FOSTERSergeant · March 24, 1968
Same unit, same day
- JOSEPH GREGORY ARTAVIASergeant · Panel 46E, Line 2
- DOUGLAS MONROE BACOTCorporal · Panel 46E, Line 2
- DAVID JULIEN BARDUSONSergeant · Panel 46E, Line 2
- KENNETH MONROE BARKERSergeant · Panel 46E, Line 2
- WALTER L GAWELSergeant · Panel 46E, Line 3
- SAMUEL EDWARD FOSTERSergeant · Panel 46E, Line 4
- TROY RAY HAYDENPrivate First Class · Panel 46E, Line 6
- ROBERT J LORENZOSergeant · Panel 46E, Line 8
- GEORGE ROLAND MARTINSpecialist Four · Panel 46E, Line 8
- GEORGE JAMES NICHOLSONPrivate First Class · Panel 46E, Line 9
- ERIC BJARNE NILSENPrivate First Class · Panel 46E, Line 9
- RUDOLFO LEONARD ROCHA JRSergeant · Panel 46E, Line 12
- RONALD FRANCIS SADLERPrivate First Class · Panel 46E, Line 12
- TERRY ROGER WHITESergeant · Panel 46E, Line 13
- DAVID LEE WILKERSONSpecialist Four · Panel 46E, Line 13
From San Diego
- STANLEY E TRUESDALEStaff Sergeant · April 12, 1963
- CLARENCE CLEMENT TESSMANCaptain · August 10, 1963
- WILLIAM CLIFTON HOOVERPetty Officer Second Class · June 10, 1965
- VIRGIL WAYNE BARTONLance Corporal · August 21, 1965
- CHARLES JOSEPH SCHARFColonel · October 1, 1965
- KENNETH JOE HAMMONDSpecialist Four · November 22, 1965
- RICHARD EUGENE GEORGEPrivate First Class · November 23, 1965
- GERALD CLYDE LYMANPrivate First Class · February 2, 1966
- JOHN JOSEPH SOLLEYLance Corporal · February 8, 1966
- DONALD D DAUGHERTYStaff Sergeant · April 13, 1966
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.