The Wall › Panel 45E › Illinois › Ronald Edward Rakunas
RONALD EDWARD RAKUNAS
Petty Officer Third Class · U.S. Navy
May 6, 1945 – March 21, 1968
Service recordRonald Edward Rakunas, of Chicago, Illinois, served as a Petty Officer Third Class in the U.S. Navy. He died on March 21, 1968, in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam, at age 22. His name is inscribed on Panel 45E, Line 50 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 45E · Line 50
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. Navy
- Rank
- Petty Officer Third Class (PO3)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Quartermaster (QM)
- Born
- May 6, 1945
- Home of record
- Chicago, Illinois (Cook County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 21, 1968
- Age
- 22
- Province
- Quang Nam
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Drowning
Context · from the records
What was happening
40 names on the Wall carry the date March 21, 1968; four of them were lost in Quảng Nam Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
Also on Panel 45E, Line 50
- SAMUEL RAY NIXONStaff Sergeant · March 21, 1968
- FARRIS LEE RICHARDSONSergeant · March 21, 1968
- WAYNE LEROY ROBERTSPrivate First Class · March 21, 1968
- JOSEPH EARL ROBINSONPrivate First Class · March 21, 1968
From Chicago
- MELVIN LESTER WATERSPrivate · February 10, 1965
- WILLIAM RALPH FUHRMANPetty Officer Third Class · April 23, 1965
- RAYMOND LEON HORNCorporal · May 1, 1965
- ARTHUR C JEPSON JRCaptain · May 16, 1965
- DONALD CLAY DEDMONStaff Sergeant · June 10, 1965
- ROGER PELIKANLance Corporal · July 17, 1965
- HARRY COHENTechnical Sergeant · July 19, 1969
- CURTIS LOCKHARTPrivate First Class · July 30, 1965
- EDWARD KOPECPrivate First Class · August 18, 1965
- JAMES LEO WHITELance Corporal · August 19, 1965
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.