The Wall › Panel 11W › Missouri › Rodney Lynn Griffin
RODNEY LYNN GRIFFIN
Sergeant · U.S. Army
August 1, 1948 – May 2, 1970
Service recordRodney Lynn Griffin, of Centralia, Missouri, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He was lost on May 2, 1970, in Cambodia, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 11W, Line 85 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 11W · Line 85
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
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Armor Reconnaissance Specialist (11D)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 25 INF DIV
- Born
- August 1, 1948
- Home of record
- Centralia, Missouri (Boone County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- May 2, 1970
- Country
- Cambodia
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — Passenger (MC)
- First reported
- Missing in action
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
36 names on the Wall carry the date May 2, 1970. In May 1970, 917 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 25th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 80 of its members that month.
He died in Cambodia while the Cambodian incursion was under way. From 29 April to 30 June 1970, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces crossed into Cambodia to attack North Vietnamese base areas and supply caches; the announcement set off campus protests, including at Kent State.
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 11W, Line 85
- KENNETH LEROY DEFENBAUGHCorporal · May 2, 1970
- EDWARD CHARLES HAGGERTYCorporal · May 2, 1970
- LARRY HERRERASergeant · May 2, 1970
- DANIEL COPE JOHNSONSpecialist Four · May 2, 1970
Same unit, same day
- DAVID WILLIAM BARNETTStaff Sergeant · Panel 11W, Line 82
- MILTON PEREZ-RIVERAPrivate · Panel 11W, Line 87
- BUNYAN DURANT PRICE JRStaff Sergeant · Panel 11W, Line 87
- DALE WAYNE RICHARDSONMajor · Panel 11W, Line 87
- ROBERT MILTON YOUNGCaptain · Panel 11W, Line 89
From Centralia
- ARTHUR EDWIN SANDERSSergeant · February 8, 1966
- MAURICE HARRISON KINKEADCorporal · September 26, 1968
- TOMMY DEE WRIGHTPrivate First Class · May 20, 1969
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.