The Wall › Panel 16W › Texas › Ronald Earl Ray
RONALD EARL RAY
Staff Sergeant · U.S. Army
August 11, 1947 – November 13, 1969
Service recordRonald Earl Ray, of Port Arthur, Texas, served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He was lost on November 13, 1969, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 16W, Line 71 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 16W · Line 71
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
- Staff Sergeant (SSG)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Field Radio Repairer (31E)
- Unit (as recorded)
- CCN 5 SF GRP
- Born
- August 11, 1947
- Home of record
- Port Arthur, Texas (Jefferson County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- November 13, 1969
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Unknown
- First reported
- Missing in action
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
19 names on the Wall carry the date November 13, 1969. In November 1969, 660 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
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
Also on Panel 16W, Line 71
- STEVEN THOMAS SCHOOLERSpecialist Four · November 13, 1969
- STEVEN G SKELLYSpecialist Four · November 13, 1969
- RANDOLPH BOTHWELL SUBERSergeant First Class · November 13, 1969
- WILLIE GEORGE TURNERSpecialist Four · November 13, 1969
From Port Arthur
- ADAM ERNEST SIMPSON JRFirst Lieutenant · October 3, 1965
- HERBERT JAMES GABRIELPrivate First Class · December 29, 1966
- CLEVELAND KEAL JRPrivate First Class · November 19, 1967
- DANNY RAY NORTHCUTTSpecialist Four · February 2, 1968
- PAUL SCOTTPrivate First Class · March 5, 1968
- LEROY PEGROSSPrivate First Class · May 26, 1968
- RODGER DALE HEBERTPrivate First Class · June 15, 1968
- JOHN DEE POWELL JRLance Corporal · June 30, 1968
- TONY JOHN AYALAPrivate First Class · August 11, 1968
- PETER LOWELL RUSSELLSergeant · August 22, 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.