The Wall › Panel 39E › Michigan › Richard Paul Vellance
RICHARD PAUL VELLANCE
Sergeant · U.S. Army
May 16, 1947 – February 15, 1968
Service recordRichard Paul Vellance, of Saginaw, Michigan, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on February 15, 1968, in Gia Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 39E, Line 55 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 39E · Line 55
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
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 25 INF DIV
- Born
- May 16, 1947
- Home of record
- Saginaw, Michigan (Saginaw County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 15, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Gia Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
73 names on the Wall carry the date February 15, 1968; eight of them were lost in Gia Dinh Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 25th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 232 of its members that month.
He died in Gia Dinh Province while the Tet Offensive was under way. Beginning on the night of 30–31 January 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces attacked more than 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. February 1968 was the deadliest month of the war for Americans.
Also on Panel 39E, Line 55
- REX FRANKLIN TUTORSpecialist Four · February 15, 1968
- BENJAMIN S UNDERHILLSpecialist Four · February 15, 1968
- DONALD WILBANKS VAUGHNSergeant · February 15, 1968
- KARL MERRITT WALDRON JRLieutenant Colonel · February 15, 1968
Same unit, same day
- SPENCER ADAMSStaff Sergeant · Panel 39E, Line 42
- DONALD MILTON DALESpecialist Four · Panel 39E, Line 44
- JAMES THOMAS DAVISStaff Sergeant · Panel 39E, Line 45
- VERNON HARVIC LACKEYPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 46
- LESTER FREEMANPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 47
- STANLEY M JAMROCKPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 48
- DAVID EARL KEISTERPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 49
- EARL MACKSpecialist Four · Panel 39E, Line 51
- CLYDE RICHARD MCAFEEPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 51
- MURAL MCDANIELPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 51
- DONALD WILBANKS VAUGHNSergeant · Panel 39E, Line 55
- RALPH LEROY WILLIAMSFirst Lieutenant · Panel 39E, Line 56
- ROGER GLENN WILSONPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 56
From Saginaw
- BRICKIE BOWMAN JRPrivate · May 23, 1965
- PAUL HAMILTON JRSergeant · October 3, 1965
- HEZEKIAH GOSS JRSpecialist Five · January 15, 1966
- ROBERT ALLEN KOWALSKICorporal · January 25, 1966
- TERRY R MCLEANStaff Sergeant · April 2, 1966
- WILLIAM JOSEPH COXPrivate First Class · October 13, 1966
- MILES DENNIS COOPERPrivate First Class · November 19, 1966
- EDWARD EARL SCHELLPrivate First Class · February 6, 1967
- JOHN ROBERT CUSHMANSpecialist Four · March 20, 1967
- STANLEY FOSTER BARRETTPrivate First Class · April 27, 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.