The Wall › Panel 43W › Ohio › Richard L Sparks
RICHARD L SPARKS
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
May 10, 1945 – September 19, 1968
Service recordRichard L Sparks, of Marion, Ohio, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on September 19, 1968, in Binh Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 23. His name is inscribed on Panel 43W, Line 43 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 43W · 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
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Specialist Four (SP4)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Light Vehicle Driver (64A)
- Unit (as recorded)
- D CO 589 ENG BN 35 ENG GRP 18 ENG BDE
- Born
- May 10, 1945
- Home of record
- Marion, Ohio (Marion County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- September 19, 1968
- Age
- 23
- Province
- Binh Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Vehicle Crash (MC)
Context · from the records
What was happening
58 names on the Wall carry the date September 19, 1968; eight of them were lost in Bình Định Province. In September 1968, 1,184 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “D CO 589 ENG BN 35 ENG GRP 18 ENG BDE”, his unit in the record, lost 2 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 43W, Line 43
- DANIEL RAYMOND SPURLINFirst Lieutenant · September 19, 1968
- JAMES JOHN STITESSpecialist Four · September 19, 1968
- ROBERT GERALD TATELance Corporal · September 19, 1968
- MARK LEON TRIPLETTPrivate First Class · September 19, 1968
Same unit, same day
- LESTER EARL ROPETERPrivate First Class · Panel 43W, Line 42
From Marion
- BRUCE AUGUST NYSTROMCaptain · December 2, 1966
- ALLAN HENRY SCHULZPrivate First Class · January 1, 1967
- LARRY LEE GASKINSCorporal · October 8, 1967
- DENNIS EUGENE WARNEPrivate First Class · November 13, 1967
- PERRY VERNANDO SHROYERStaff Sergeant · February 28, 1968
- MICHAEL BRUCE SPICERCorporal · March 1, 1968
- KENNETH DAVID THOMPSONPrivate First Class · April 11, 1968
- CHARLES JOEL BEHM JRSergeant · April 30, 1968
- ROBERT EUGENE HICKMANChief Petty Officer · July 1, 1968
- JAMES CAUDILLLance Corporal · August 18, 1968
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.