The Wall › Panel 46E › Pennsylvania › Richard Lee Whitteker
RICHARD LEE WHITTEKER
Captain · U.S. Air Force
February 7, 1939 – March 27, 1968
Service recordRichard Lee Whitteker, of Easton, Pennsylvania, served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force. He died on March 27, 1968, in North Vietnam, at age 29. His name is inscribed on Panel 46E, Line 51 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 46E · Line 51
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
Did you know him? Family members and friends are invited to share a photograph or a memory. Nothing is posted until it has been reviewed.
Service
- Branch
- U.S. Air Force
- Rank
- Captain (CAPT)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- 480 TAC FTR SQ
- Born
- February 7, 1939
- Home of record
- Easton, Pennsylvania (Northampton County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 27, 1968
- Age
- 29
- Country
- North 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
43 names on the Wall carry the date March 27, 1968. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in North Vietnam while Operation Rolling Thunder was under way. Operation Rolling Thunder (March 1965–November 1968) was the sustained U.S. bombing campaign against North Vietnam, flown by Air Force fighter-bombers from Thailand and Navy aircraft from carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin against some of the densest air defenses in the world.
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 46E, Line 51
- JACK DONALD SUNDQUISTMajor · March 27, 1968
- THOMAS LEO TAFFEPrivate First Class · March 27, 1968
- LARRY DALE WEBBLance Corporal · March 27, 1968
- JAMES DAVIS WHITESergeant · March 27, 1968
From Easton
- ROBERT ALLEN BUTZFirst Lieutenant · June 26, 1965
- CHESTER EUGENE WORMAN JRLance Corporal · December 19, 1965
- DENNIS RICHARD ANDREWLance Corporal · March 21, 1966
- ROBERT CRITCHLEY KELLERFirst Lieutenant · October 16, 1966
- WALTER WALTON HARINGStaff Sergeant · February 16, 1967
- ALAN WAYNE BONNEYPrivate First Class · May 25, 1967
- MICHAEL STEPHEN GOZDANSecond Lieutenant · October 6, 1967
- ALBERT SHILLERCorporal · April 2, 1968
- TERRY JAMES RAMPULLALance Corporal · April 16, 1968
- WILLIAM TERRY GIBSONPrivate First Class · June 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.