The Wall › Panel 11W › West Virginia › Ronnie Lee Hensley
RONNIE LEE HENSLEY
Chief Master Sergeant · U.S. Air Force
June 8, 1948 – April 22, 1970
Service recordRonnie Lee Hensley, of Richwood, West Virginia, served as a Chief Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on April 22, 1970, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 11W, Line 36 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 11W · Line 36
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. Air Force
- Rank
- Chief Master Sergeant (CMSGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Born
- June 8, 1948
- Home of record
- Richwood, West Virginia (Nicholas County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- April 22, 1970
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
Context · from the records
What was happening
29 names on the Wall carry the date April 22, 1970. In April 1970, 730 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
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 11W, Line 36
- ROBERT NEWELL IRELANDChief Master Sergeant · April 22, 1970
- WYMAN TRUVOY JOHNSONSpecialist Four · April 22, 1970
- JOHN SCOTT KEENANWarrant Officer 1 · April 22, 1970
- ALAN JOSEPH KULTGENSergeant · April 22, 1970
From Richwood
- ARCHIE MERLIN ELLYSONSergeant First Class · January 25, 1967
- REX ALLAN BOWYERSpecialist Four · February 1, 1968
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.