The Wall › Panel 35E › New York › Richard Fred Rial
RICHARD FRED RIAL
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
December 14, 1944 – January 30, 1968
Service recordRichard Fred Rial, of Rathbone, New York, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on January 30, 1968, in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, at age 23. His name is inscribed on Panel 35E, Line 80 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 35E · Line 80
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.
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Specialist Four (SP4)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Armor Reconnaissance Specialist (11D)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- December 14, 1944
- Home of record
- Rathbone, New York (Steuben County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 30, 1968
- Age
- 23
- Province
- Kontum
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Artillery/Mortar/Rocket
Context · from the records
What was happening
99 names on the Wall carry the date January 30, 1968; nine of them were lost in Kon Tum Province. In January 1968, 1,546 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 4th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 78 of its members that month.
He died in Kon Tum 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 35E, Line 80
- DAN DAILY MCCONNAUGHHAYPetty Officer Second Class · February 5, 1966
- PETER WELLESLEY FOOTESergeant · January 30, 1968
- TONY RIJOSPrivate First Class · January 30, 1968
- GENE AUTRY ROSSPrivate First Class · January 30, 1968
- WILLIAM ROBERT ROSS JRFirst Lieutenant · January 30, 1968
Same unit, same day
- GLENN ROY BRUSTSpecialist Four · Panel 35E, Line 66
- ROBERT WAYNE FORKLSpecialist Four · Panel 35E, Line 70
- PAUL EDGAR GERLACHPrivate First Class · Panel 35E, Line 70
- RICHARD THEODORE HEIMESSergeant · Panel 35E, Line 72
- LOUIS CANCIAN GROVESpecialist Four · Panel 35E, Line 73
- DENNIS BEN KOUHNSSpecialist Five · Panel 35E, Line 74
- DENNIS LOUIS MAGRIESpecialist Four · Panel 35E, Line 75
- PETE MELNICKSpecialist Four · Panel 35E, Line 76
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.