The WallVietnam Veterans Memorial · The Lake Norman Brief
A soldier of the 4th Infantry Division secures a landing zone, October 1967.
A soldier of the 4th Infantry Division secures a landing zone, October 1967. Photo: SP5 Robert C. Lafoon, U.S. Army, public domain. Shown for the time and place, not a photograph of Richard Killens.

The Wall › Panel 3E › Ohio › Richard Killens

RICHARD KILLENS

Specialist Four · U.S. Army

October 20, 1941 – December 5, 1965

Service record

Richard Killens, of Cleveland, Ohio, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on December 5, 1965, in South Vietnam, at age 24. His name is inscribed on Panel 3E, Line 129 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

On the Wall

Panel 3E · Line 129

Position of Panel 3E on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

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)
1 INF DIV
Born
October 20, 1941
Home of record
Cleveland, Ohio (Cuyahoga County)

Casualty

Date of death
December 5, 1965
Age
24
Country
South Vietnam
Casualty type
Hostile
Category
Killed in Action
Circumstance
Small Arms Fire

Context · from the records

What was happening

49 names on the Wall carry the date December 5, 1965. In December 1965, 326 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.

The 1st Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 77 of its members that month.

Also on Panel 3E, Line 129

Same unit, same day

From Cleveland

All 250 names from Cleveland →

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.