The Wall › Panel 32W › Massachusetts › Richard Lane Cotter
RICHARD LANE COTTER
Second Lieutenant · U.S. Marine Corps
June 11, 1945 – February 10, 1969
Service recordRichard Lane Cotter, of Peabody, Massachusetts, served as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on February 10, 1969, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, at age 23. His name is inscribed on Panel 32W, Line 4 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 32W · Line 4
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. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Second Lieutenant (2NDLT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Basic Tank And Assault Amphibious Vehicle Officer (I) (1801)
- Born
- June 11, 1945
- Home of record
- Peabody, Massachusetts (Essex County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 10, 1969
- Age
- 23
- Province
- Quang Tri
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
32 names on the Wall carry the date February 10, 1969; 14 of them were lost in Quảng Trị Province. In February 1969, 1,304 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Quảng Trị Province while Operation Dewey Canyon was under way. In Operation Dewey Canyon (22 January–18 March 1969) the 9th Marines struck North Vietnamese base areas in the Đa Krông and A Shau valleys, the last major Marine offensive of the war. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
Read the history
Also on Panel 32W, Line 4
- ALBERT GEORGE CHRISTY JRSergeant · February 10, 1969
- LONZO SILAS CUMMINGSPrivate First Class · February 10, 1969
- BARRY VICTOR DETREMPECorporal · February 10, 1969
- CARL EDWARD GOLDSMITH JRLance Corporal · February 10, 1969
From Peabody
- LEO WILLIAM LEVESQUEPetty Officer Second Class · December 13, 1965
- JOHN HENRY SAVAGEAUPrivate First Class · March 20, 1966
- JOHN EDWARD MCCARTHYStaff Sergeant · February 20, 1967
- RALPH WARREN MANEYSergeant · March 22, 1968
- LOUIS MARIO GIROLIMONLance Corporal · June 10, 1968
- BRUCE ALEN MARRONPrivate First Class · July 20, 1968
- ROBERT LESLIE ROSSFirst Lieutenant · August 22, 1968
- RICHARD JOSEPH BOISWarrant Officer 1 · March 7, 1969
- STEVEN ELLIS DONALDSONSecond Lieutenant · April 5, 1969
- BRUCE DAVID DICKFirst Lieutenant · May 9, 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.