The Wall › Panel 8W › South Dakota › Ronald Andrew Olesen
RONALD ANDREW OLESEN
Sergeant First Class · U.S. Army
December 17, 1941 – July 22, 1970
Service recordRonald Andrew Olesen, of Presho, South Dakota, served as a Sergeant First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on July 22, 1970, in Phuoc Long Province, South Vietnam, at age 28. His name is inscribed on Panel 8W, Line 43 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 8W · Line 43
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 First Class (SFC)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Cannon Fire Direction Specialist (13E)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- December 17, 1941
- Home of record
- Presho, South Dakota (Lyman County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- July 22, 1970
- Age
- 28
- Province
- Phuoc Long
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — Passenger (MC)
Context · from the records
What was happening
22 names on the Wall carry the date July 22, 1970; three of them were lost in Phuoc Long Province. In July 1970, 495 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 52 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 8W, Line 43
- GEORGE ROBERT KELLEYCorporal · July 22, 1970
- LYLE ARCHIE KLOEKSpecialist Four · July 22, 1970
- JOHN WILLIAM KRECKELStaff Sergeant · July 22, 1970
- THOMAS ARNOLD LONGPrivate First Class · July 22, 1970
Same unit, same day
- LARRY DUWAYNE JOHNSONSpecialist Four · Panel 8W, Line 42
- DANIEL JOSEPH TURCOTTEChief Warrant Officer 2 · Panel 8W, Line 45
From Presho
- JOHN WILLIAM HUTCHISONCorporal · August 19, 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.