The Wall › Panel 2W › Michigan › Richard Henry Defer
RICHARD HENRY DEFER
Major · U.S. Air Force
October 9, 1931 – October 18, 1971
Service recordRichard Henry Defer, of Traverse City, Michigan, served as a Major in the U.S. Air Force. He died on October 18, 1971, in Laos, at age 40. His name is inscribed on Panel 2W, Line 43 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 2W · Line 43
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
Did you know him? Family members and friends are invited to share a photograph or a memory. Nothing is posted until it has been reviewed.
Service
- Branch
- U.S. Air Force
- Rank
- Major (MAJ)
- Service
- Regular
- Born
- October 9, 1931
- Home of record
- Traverse City, Michigan (Grand Traverse County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- October 18, 1971
- Age
- 40
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
Five names on the Wall carry the date October 18, 1971. In October 1971, 132 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
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.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 2W, Line 43
- WESLEY STEWART SHELTONSpecialist Four · October 18, 1971
- RICKY MICHAEL ARIENSSergeant · October 19, 1971
- ALAN RANSOM BOONECaptain · October 19, 1971
From Traverse City
- THOMAS NEIL YAGLELance Corporal · April 16, 1966
- WARREN W COBLEYSergeant First Class · July 8, 1966
- RICHARD LEE OTTELance Corporal · September 7, 1967
- MELVIN UDELSON WANGESHIKSpecialist Four · February 19, 1968
- DOUGLAS MEREDITH MCNABBSpecialist Four · February 23, 1968
- JOHN CHARLES HARRINGTONPrivate · June 4, 1968
- JAMES IVAN JAQUISHSpecialist Four · September 25, 1969
- MICHAEL PATRICK MCQUEERSpecialist Four · November 11, 1969
- GERALD DOUGLAS TOMLINSONCorporal · February 4, 1970
- HOFF RALPH HENRY VONDERPrivate First Class · August 28, 1970
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.