The Wall › Panel 1W › California › Richard William Rivenburgh
RICHARD WILLIAM RIVENBURGH
Private First Class · U.S. Marine Corps
July 14, 1953 – May 15, 1975
Service recordRichard William Rivenburgh, of San Diego, California, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on May 15, 1975, in Cambodia, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 132 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 132
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. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Assaultman (0351)
- Unit (as recorded)
- G CO 2 BN 9 MAR 3 MARDIV
- Born
- July 14, 1953
- Home of record
- San Diego, California (San Diego County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 15, 1975
- Age
- 21
- Country
- Cambodia
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — Passenger (MC)
- Incident
- Uss Mayaguez Capture
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
18 names on the Wall carry the date May 15, 1975. In May 1975, 42 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “G CO 2 BN 9 MAR 3 MARDIV”, his unit in the record, lost 10 of its members that month.
He died in Cambodia while the Mayaguez incident was under way. After Khmer Rouge forces seized the U.S. merchant ship Mayaguez in May 1975, Marines assaulted Koh Tang island; their names are the last on the Wall.
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
Also on Panel 1W, Line 132
- WALTER BOYDPrivate First Class · May 15, 1975
- ANDRES GARCIALance Corporal · May 15, 1975
- ELWOOD EUGENE RUMBAUGHStaff Sergeant · May 15, 1975
- RICHARD VANDEGEERSecond Lieutenant · May 15, 1975
Same unit, same day
- DANIEL ANDREW BENEDETTPrivate First Class · Panel 1W, Line 129
- LYNN BLESSINGPrivate First Class · Panel 1W, Line 129
- ANTONIO RAMOS SANDOVALPrivate First Class · Panel 1W, Line 129
- GREGORY SCOTT COPENHAVERLance Corporal · Panel 1W, Line 130
- KELTON RENA TURNERPrivate First Class · Panel 1W, Line 130
- JAMES JOSEPH JACQUESPrivate First Class · Panel 1W, Line 131
- ASHTON NATHANIEL LONEYLance Corporal · Panel 1W, Line 131
- JAMES RICKEY MAXWELLPrivate First Class · Panel 1W, Line 131
- WALTER BOYDPrivate First Class · Panel 1W, Line 132
From San Diego
- STANLEY E TRUESDALEStaff Sergeant · April 12, 1963
- CLARENCE CLEMENT TESSMANCaptain · August 10, 1963
- WILLIAM CLIFTON HOOVERPetty Officer Second Class · June 10, 1965
- VIRGIL WAYNE BARTONLance Corporal · August 21, 1965
- CHARLES JOSEPH SCHARFColonel · October 1, 1965
- KENNETH JOE HAMMONDSpecialist Four · November 22, 1965
- RICHARD EUGENE GEORGEPrivate First Class · November 23, 1965
- GERALD CLYDE LYMANPrivate First Class · February 2, 1966
- JOHN JOSEPH SOLLEYLance Corporal · February 8, 1966
- DONALD D DAUGHERTYStaff Sergeant · April 13, 1966
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.