The Wall › Panel 6E › California › Ronald Lemon Wafford
RONALD LEMON WAFFORD
Lance Corporal · U.S. Marine Corps
April 1, 1945 – August 24, 1965
Service recordRonald Lemon Wafford, of Ukiah, California, served as a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on August 24, 1965, in South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 6E, Line 56 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 6E · Line 56
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.
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Lance Corporal (LCPL)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Automotive Mechanic (3516)
- Born
- April 1, 1945
- Home of record
- Ukiah, California (Mendocino County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- August 24, 1965
- Age
- 20
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — Passenger (MC)
- Incident
- Airplane Crash Hong Kong To Danang Vs
Context · from the records
What was happening
61 names on the Wall carry the date August 24, 1965. In August 1965, 179 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in South Vietnam while Operation Starlite was under way. Operation Starlite (18–24 August 1965), on the Van Tuong peninsula south of Chu Lai, was the first regimental-size U.S. ground battle of the war. Marines attacked the 1st Viet Cong Regiment by helicopter, amphibious landing and on foot. The record gives the date and branch of service but not the exact place.
Also on Panel 6E, Line 56
- MICHAEL RAY BECKPrivate First Class · March 28, 1966
- EDMUND FRANCIS EDDYPrivate First Class · March 28, 1966
- RONNIE ELMON HALLPrivate First Class · March 28, 1966
- PAUL ELIAS HASSEYPrivate First Class · March 28, 1966
- WILLIAM FRANCIS JOYCEPrivate First Class · March 28, 1966
From Ukiah
- EDMUND HENRY FRENYEAMaster Chief Petty Officer · January 22, 1966
- DENNIS PAUL DUNSINGPrivate First Class · May 6, 1968
- STEPHEN CORNELL BRUNTONPetty Officer Third Class · August 18, 1968
- DONALD GLENN ARMSTRONGSergeant First Class · April 2, 1970
- JEFFREY SCOTT WESOLOWSKISpecialist Four · June 19, 1971
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.