The Wall › Panel 23W › Tennessee › Richard Lee Patterson
RICHARD LEE PATTERSON
First Lieutenant · U.S. Army
November 23, 1943 – May 29, 1969
Service recordRichard Lee Patterson, of Harriman, Tennessee, served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He died on May 29, 1969, in Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam, at age 25. His name is inscribed on Panel 23W, Line 17 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 23W · Line 17
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
- First Lieutenant (1LT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Parachutist, Infantry Unit Commander (71542)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 82 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- November 23, 1943
- Home of record
- Harriman, Tennessee (Roane County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 29, 1969
- Age
- 25
- Province
- Binh Duong
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
31 names on the Wall carry the date May 29, 1969; five of them were lost in Bình Dương Province. In May 1969, 1,456 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 82nd Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 23 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 23W, Line 17
- GARY MICHAEL PAULLance Corporal · May 29, 1969
- CHARLES C PFORDT JRChief Warrant Officer 2 · May 29, 1969
- GERALD WAYNE POSTENPrivate First Class · May 29, 1969
- WILTON STROUD PYLESecond Lieutenant · May 29, 1969
Same unit, same day
- JAMES WILFORD CLAYPrivate First Class · Panel 23W, Line 14
- CRIS HOLLIDAYCorporal · Panel 23W, Line 15
- HERMAN LEROY JUDY JRCorporal · Panel 23W, Line 15
- JOE RODRIGUEZCorporal · Panel 23W, Line 18
- ROBERT JAMES ROSENOWCorporal · Panel 23W, Line 18
- CRAIG EDWARD YATESCorporal · Panel 23W, Line 19
From Harriman
- CLARENCE EDWARD BARNESSergeant · April 11, 1966
- EVERETT WILSON JOHNSON JRPrivate First Class · January 31, 1968
- ESTEL DENNY SPAKESSergeant First Class · March 12, 1968
- JERRY ROGER FERGUSONSergeant · June 13, 1968
- BRADLEY KEITH WATTSPrivate First Class · September 15, 1968
- CHARLES DEAN STRINGFIELDStaff Sergeant · December 10, 1968
- DONALD ROBERT MATHISSergeant · May 28, 1971
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.