The Wall › Panel 1E › New York › Robert Carl Wistrand
ROBERT CARL WISTRAND
Colonel · U.S. Air Force
August 12, 1930 – May 9, 1965
Service recordRobert Carl Wistrand, of New York, New York, served as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on May 9, 1965, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 1E, Line 112 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1E · Line 112
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
- Colonel (COL)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Pilot (1115E)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 563 TFS
- Born
- August 12, 1930
- Home of record
- New York, New York (Kings County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- May 9, 1965
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
Three names on the Wall carry the date May 9, 1965. In May 1965, 89 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “563 TFS”, his unit in the record, lost 2 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
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 1E, Line 112
- NICKOLAS RAY KOEHLERLance Corporal · May 8, 1965
- JAMES DAVID LAHAYECommander · May 8, 1965
- DAVID ALLEN KARDELLLieutenant · May 9, 1965
- ROGER J MCALLISTER JRSergeant · May 9, 1965
From New York
- WALTER R MCCARTHY JRCaptain · June 16, 1962
- JOHN HOWARD MCCLEANCaptain · August 16, 1963
- DONALD ALLAN MOLLICONEFirst Lieutenant · December 20, 1963
- VINCENT JOSEPH HICKMANCaptain · January 14, 1964
- MARTIN STOCKFEDERPrivate First Class · July 15, 1964
- ROBERT GEORGE ARMSTRONGFirst Lieutenant · October 24, 1964
- DOMINICK SANSONESergeant First Class · December 10, 1964
- DONALD GILBERT COOKColonel · December 31, 1964
- TERENCE MEREDITH MURPHYLieutenant (junior grade) · April 9, 1965
- GERALD MICHAEL ROMANOLieutenant (junior grade) · June 2, 1965
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.