The Wall › Panel 18W › Montana › Richard James Best JR
RICHARD JAMES BEST JR
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
September 22, 1948 – September 7, 1969
Service recordRichard James Best JR, of Kalispell, Montana, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on September 7, 1969, in Long An Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 18W, Line 53 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 18W · Line 53
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
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Medical Specialist (91B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 9 INF DIV
- Born
- September 22, 1948
- Home of record
- Kalispell, Montana (Flathead County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- September 7, 1969
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Long An
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
25 names on the Wall carry the date September 7, 1969; he was the only one lost in Long An Province that day. In September 1969, 664 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 9th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 19 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 18W, Line 53
- ROBERT CHARLES BENOIT JRSergeant · September 7, 1969
- ROGER WAYNE BISHOPCorporal · September 7, 1969
- GARY LEE BOWDLERSpecialist Four · September 7, 1969
- JOHN LEWIS ERFORD JRCorporal · September 7, 1969
From Kalispell
- MITCHELL LESTER ANDERSONLance Corporal · July 20, 1965
- RODGER DEAN ECKSTEINPrivate First Class · October 2, 1967
- DAVID WALTER DORRISPrivate First Class · April 18, 1968
- DUANE LEE COTTETCorporal · November 1, 1968
- RICHARD MICHAEL JOHNSONSpecialist Four · February 26, 1969
- TIMOTHY CHARLES ROBINSONPrivate First Class · October 22, 1969
- WILLIAM GREGORY LITTLECorporal · January 14, 1970
- PHILLIP ARTHUR NICHOLSCaptain · October 13, 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.