The Wall › Panel 21E › Texas › Ronald James Dexter
RONALD JAMES DEXTER
Sergeant Major · U.S. Army
July 23, 1933 – June 3, 1967
Service recordRonald James Dexter, of Abilene, Texas, served as a Sergeant Major in the U.S. Army. He was lost on June 3, 1967, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 21E, Line 43 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 21E · 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 Major (SGM)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantry Operations And Intelligence Specialist (11F)
- Unit (as recorded)
- SPECIAL FORCES
- Born
- July 23, 1933
- Home of record
- Abilene, Texas (Multiple County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- June 3, 1967
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Unknown
- First reported
- Captured / prisoner of war
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
70 names on the Wall carry the date June 3, 1967. In June 1967, 948 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
Special Forces, his unit in the record, lost 17 of its members that month.
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
On the Wall
Also on Panel 21E, Line 43
- GARY BRUCE BAKERSpecialist Five · June 3, 1967
- WILLIAM STANLEY DAUGHERTYLance Corporal · June 3, 1967
- JAMES JEROME DEASEL JRLance Corporal · June 3, 1967
- ROBERT BRUCE DEMELLOSpecialist Four · June 3, 1967
Same unit, same day
- BILLY RAY LANEYMaster Sergeant · Panel 21E, Line 48
From Abilene
- EDGAR LEWIS PETERSON JRPrivate First Class · September 18, 1965
- RAYES CISNEROS FLORESPrivate First Class · October 30, 1965
- FRANCISCO HERRERASergeant · March 29, 1966
- GREG WEAVERPrivate First Class · May 26, 1966
- RONALD GENE MCBETHPrivate First Class · June 25, 1966
- HENRY HARRISON DELANOMaster Sergeant · July 22, 1966
- JACKIE BURL HALLPrivate First Class · November 8, 1966
- WILLIAM P YARBROUGH JRCommander · January 19, 1967
- SAM TRINIDAD CURIELLance Corporal · September 6, 1967
- PHILLIP DALE JOHNSONPetty Officer Third Class · September 10, 1967
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.