The Wall › Panel 36W › Massachusetts › Richard Olson
RICHARD OLSON
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
September 30, 1949 – December 18, 1968
Service recordRichard Olson, of Dorchester, Massachusetts, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on December 18, 1968, in Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 36W, Line 41 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 36W · Line 41
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. Army
- Rank
- Specialist Four (SP4)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Aircraft Maintenance Apprentice (67A)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- September 30, 1949
- Home of record
- Dorchester, Massachusetts (Suffolk County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- December 18, 1968
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Binh Duong
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
22 names on the Wall carry the date December 18, 1968; four of them were lost in Bình Dương Province. In December 1968, 855 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Aviation Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 21 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 36W, Line 41
- GREGORY INMAN BARRASColonel · December 18, 1968
- ROGER CLAIR MCCORDCorporal · December 18, 1968
- KENNETH BRUCE MILLHOUSESpecialist Four · December 18, 1968
- ANGELO ANDREW PETRAGLIASpecialist Four · December 18, 1968
From Dorchester
- JACK RABINOVITZCorporal · February 23, 1966
- PATRICK JOSEPH KELLY JRSergeant · February 28, 1966
- MICHAEL DAVID BURTPrivate First Class · June 1, 1966
- THOMAS JOSEPH KANEPrivate · September 21, 1966
- JOSEPH ROBERT WALLENLance Corporal · January 26, 1967
- MARK MICHAEL MCLAUGHLINPrivate First Class · February 18, 1967
- WAVERIE HUGH BUCHANANLance Corporal · March 17, 1967
- FREDERICK ALFRED MCMAHONCorporal · May 4, 1967
- GERALD FRANCIS MCDONALDCorporal · May 26, 1967
- JOHN PATRICK COLLOPYPrivate First Class · July 15, 1967
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.