The Wall › Panel 12W › Michigan › Richard James Widmer
RICHARD JAMES WIDMER
Private First Class · U.S. Army
February 5, 1949 – March 20, 1970
Service recordRichard James Widmer, of Temperance, Michigan, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on March 20, 1970, in Phuoc Long Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 12W, Line 27 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 12W · Line 27
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
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Tactical Wire Operations Specialist (36K)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- February 5, 1949
- Home of record
- Temperance, Michigan (Monroe County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 20, 1970
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Phuoc Long
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
20 names on the Wall carry the date March 20, 1970; he was the only one lost in Phuoc Long Province that day. In March 1970, 625 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 78 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 12W, Line 27
- MICHAEL JOSEPH MCGUIREPrivate First Class · March 20, 1970
- GARY ROSS STACEYSpecialist Four · March 20, 1970
- ROBERT NOEL THOMPSONPrivate First Class · March 20, 1970
- TINSLEY JACK WELLS JRSpecialist Four · March 20, 1970
Same unit, same day
- ARVELL BERNARD HOLSTONSergeant · Panel 12W, Line 25
From Temperance
- THOMAS EDWARD GRAYCorporal · May 11, 1969
- ROBERT E MITCHELL JRPrivate First Class · July 29, 1969
- WILLIAM F VANCLEAVEPrivate First Class · November 26, 1969
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.