The Wall › Panel 1W › Texas › Richard Lee Russell
RICHARD LEE RUSSELL
First Lieutenant · U.S. Air Force
November 6, 1946 – April 26, 1972
Service recordRichard Lee Russell, of Snyder, Texas, served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. He died on April 26, 1972, in Binh Long Province, South Vietnam, at age 25. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 7 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 7
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. Air Force
- Rank
- First Lieutenant (1STLT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Unit (as recorded)
- 374 TAL WG
- Born
- November 6, 1946
- Home of record
- Snyder, Texas (Scurry County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 26, 1972
- Age
- 25
- Province
- Binh Long
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
Six names on the Wall carry the date April 26, 1972; six of them were lost in Binh Long Province. In April 1972, 106 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “374 TAL WG”, his unit in the record, lost 5 of its members that month.
He died in Binh Long Province while the Easter Offensive was under way. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched its largest offensive since 1968, attacking across the DMZ, toward An Lộc and into the Central Highlands. By then few U.S. ground troops remained; American advisers and air power fought alongside the South Vietnamese.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 1W, Line 7
- HARRY ARLO AMESBURY JRMajor · April 26, 1972
- CALVIN COOLIDGE COOKE JRStaff Sergeant · April 26, 1972
- RICHARD EDWARD DUNNTechnical Sergeant · April 26, 1972
- DONALD RUSSELL HOSKINSTechnical Sergeant · April 26, 1972
Same unit, same day
- HARRY ARLO AMESBURY JRMajor · Panel 1W, Line 7
- CALVIN COOLIDGE COOKE JRStaff Sergeant · Panel 1W, Line 7
- RICHARD EDWARD DUNNTechnical Sergeant · Panel 1W, Line 7
- DONALD RUSSELL HOSKINSTechnical Sergeant · Panel 1W, Line 7
From Snyder
- DONALD THORPE DEERESpecialist Five · May 17, 1966
- JERRY PAUL RODGERSPetty Officer Third Class · July 29, 1967
- WILLIAM PAUL ROLLINSWarrant Officer 1 · September 29, 1968
- REYNALDO SALAIS RODRIGUEZPrivate First Class · July 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.