The Wall › Panel 6W › Michigan › Ronald Edward Gerstner
RONALD EDWARD GERSTNER
Specialist Five · U.S. Army
June 1, 1939 – November 9, 1970
Service recordRonald Edward Gerstner, of Sagola, Michigan, served as a Specialist Five in the U.S. Army. He died on November 9, 1970, in Binh Thuy Province, South Vietnam, at age 31. His name is inscribed on Panel 6W, Line 47 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 6W · 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
- Specialist Five (SP5)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Heavy Construction Equipment Operator (62E)
- Unit (as recorded)
- US ARMY REP OF VIETNAM
- Born
- June 1, 1939
- Home of record
- Sagola, Michigan (Dickinson County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- November 9, 1970
- Age
- 31
- Province
- Binh Thuy
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Other Accident
Context · from the records
What was happening
11 names on the Wall carry the date November 9, 1970; he was the only one lost in Binh Thuy Province that day. In November 1970, 347 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 42 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 6W, Line 47
- TIMOTHY DAVID AMICKCorporal · November 9, 1970
- JAMES PATRICK CODDINGTONMajor · November 9, 1970
- RANDALL LEE ELLISSergeant · November 9, 1970
- REX LEONARD FRAZIERStaff Sergeant · November 9, 1970
Same unit, same day
- HARRY STANLEY MASON JRSpecialist Four · Panel 6W, Line 48
- JAMES HERSHEL SAXTON JRSpecialist Four · Panel 6W, Line 48
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.