The Wall › Panel 1W › California › Ronald Albert Wenzl
RONALD ALBERT WENZL
Private First Class · U.S. Army
January 21, 1951 – June 19, 1972
Service recordRonald Albert Wenzl, of Hesperia, California, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on June 19, 1972, in Gia Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 47 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 47
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
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Military Police (95B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- US ARMY REP OF VIETNAM
- Born
- January 21, 1951
- Home of record
- Hesperia, California (San Bernardino County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- June 19, 1972
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Gia Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Vehicle Crash (MC)
Context · from the records
What was happening
Two names on the Wall carry the date June 19, 1972; he was the only one lost in Gia Dinh Province that day. In June 1972, 88 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “US ARMY REP OF VIETNAM”, his unit in the record, lost 9 of its members that month.
He died in Gia Dinh Province while the Easter Offensive was under way. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched its largest offensive since 1968, attacking across the DMZ, toward An Lộc and into the Central Highlands. By then few U.S. ground troops remained; American advisers and air power fought alongside the South Vietnamese.
Also on Panel 1W, Line 47
- LOUIS KARL BREUER IVFirst Lieutenant · June 20, 1972
- EARL WARREN FREDERICKSONPetty Officer Second Class · June 20, 1972
- EDWIN GILBERT NORTHUPCaptain · June 20, 1972
- STEPHEN EDWARD SHIELDSFirst Lieutenant · June 20, 1972
From Hesperia
- WILLIAM LLOYD KINNARDPrivate First Class · April 11, 1968
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.