The Wall › Panel 1W › California › Ronnie Allen Mendoza
RONNIE ALLEN MENDOZA
Lieutenant Colonel · U.S. Army
December 9, 1935 – June 5, 1972
Service recordRonnie Allen Mendoza, of Los Angeles, California, served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army. He died on June 5, 1972, in Pleiku Province, South Vietnam, at age 36. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 37 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 37
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
- Lieutenant Colonel (LTC)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- US ARMY REP OF VIETNAM
- Born
- December 9, 1935
- Home of record
- Los Angeles, California (Los Angeles County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- June 5, 1972
- Age
- 36
- Province
- Pleiku
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — Passenger (MC)
Context · from the records
What was happening
14 names on the Wall carry the date June 5, 1972; 11 of them were lost in Pleiku Province. In June 1972, 88 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 9 of its members that month.
He died in Pleiku Province while the Easter Offensive was under way. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched its largest offensive since 1968, attacking across the DMZ, toward An Lộc and into the Central Highlands. By then few U.S. ground troops remained; American advisers and air power fought alongside the South Vietnamese.
Also on Panel 1W, Line 37
- DAVID STANLEY KRANERFireman · June 5, 1972
- THOMAS MILTON LEJEUNEStaff Sergeant · June 5, 1972
- KYLIS THEROD PAYNESeaman · June 5, 1972
- NICHOLAS QUINONES-BORRASMajor · June 5, 1972
Same unit, same day
- PAUL DAVID BACONSpecialist Four · Panel 1W, Line 35
From Los Angeles
- JAMES WILLIAM MCNALLYTechnical Sergeant · October 23, 1963
- FRANK JOHN HOLGUINPrivate First Class · March 15, 1964
- RICHARD DEAN GOSSCaptain · August 29, 1964
- JOHN LOWERY MCCOYSergeant First Class · September 26, 1964
- JAMES HENRY MCLEANMaster Sergeant · February 9, 1965
- DWIGHT GLENN FRAKESChief Petty Officer · February 24, 1965
- AARON HAROLD WESTERNPrivate First Class · June 16, 1965
- EDWARD JAMES ANDERSPrivate First Class · June 18, 1965
- MAURICE RICHARD HILLPrivate · June 29, 1965
- WILLIAM WARREN HAILLieutenant Colonel · August 2, 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.