The Wall › Panel 56W › Ohio › Ronald Lee Best
RONALD LEE BEST
Private First Class · U.S. Army
October 27, 1947 – June 19, 1968
Service recordRonald Lee Best, of Dayton, Ohio, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on June 19, 1968, in Binh Long Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 56W, Line 31 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 56W · Line 31
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
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 INF DIV
- Born
- October 27, 1947
- Home of record
- Dayton, Ohio (Montgomery County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- June 19, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Binh Long
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
50 names on the Wall carry the date June 19, 1968; he was the only one lost in Binh Long Province that day. In June 1968, 1,257 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 65 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 56W, Line 31
- ROBERT M WOODSSpecialist Four · June 18, 1968
- HERBERT MARSHALL ALLENSergeant · June 19, 1968
- DAVID RUSSELL BARTHOLOMEWPrivate First Class · June 19, 1968
- MICHAEL DAVID HELMSTETLERFirst Lieutenant · June 19, 1968
Same unit, same day
- RICHARD THOMAS DUTROPrivate First Class · Panel 56W, Line 33
- CARL SANFORD KIZERCaptain · Panel 56W, Line 35
- FREDRIC CECIL MCCASKILLPrivate First Class · Panel 56W, Line 36
- MARVIN SCOTTSpecialist Four · Panel 55W, Line 2
From Dayton
- CHARLES ROBERT SMITHLance Corporal · May 23, 1965
- JOE CALVIN PAULLance Corporal · August 19, 1965
- RICHARD DENNIS SHARPLance Corporal · October 30, 1965
- RICHARD GALE WICKLance Corporal · November 22, 1965
- DONALD MAILY SHAFER IIPrivate First Class · February 18, 1966
- HARRY DONALD HASKINSPrivate First Class · April 29, 1966
- TIMOTHY RAYPrivate First Class · May 8, 1966
- ROGER MICHAEL MATHEWSONSergeant · May 11, 1966
- MICHAEL ROBERT POPPAWPrivate First Class · May 12, 1966
- DOUGLAS HUGH KNOTTPrivate First Class · July 19, 1966
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.