The Wall › Panel 2W › Ohio › Roy Dewitt Prater
ROY DEWITT PRATER
Technical Sergeant · U.S. Air Force
July 1, 1936 – April 6, 1972
Service recordRoy Dewitt Prater, of Tiffin, Ohio, served as a Technical Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. He died on April 6, 1972, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, at age 35. His name is inscribed on Panel 2W, Line 131 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 2W · Line 131
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
- Technical Sergeant (TSGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- 7 AF
- Born
- July 1, 1936
- Home of record
- Tiffin, Ohio (Seneca County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 6, 1972
- Age
- 35
- Province
- Quang Tri
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
Seven names on the Wall carry the date April 6, 1972; six of them were lost in Quảng Trị Province. In April 1972, 106 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “7 AF”, his unit in the record, lost 2 of its members that month.
He died in Quảng Trị 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 2W, Line 131
- THOMAS EARL DUNLOPCommander · April 6, 1972
- ROBERT LOUIS HORSTChief Warrant Officer 2 · April 7, 1972
- JOE DAVID HUDSONChief Warrant Officer 2 · April 7, 1972
From Tiffin
- GRANT CARL TAYLORPrivate · June 5, 1967
- HOWARD ALBERT STRAUSBAUGHLance Corporal · March 9, 1968
- LAWRENCE GILBERT BARGAHEISERGunnery Sergeant · August 6, 1968
- ROBERT CHARLE SIEBENALLERSpecialist Four · October 27, 1968
- ROBERT LEE LUSTERStaff Sergeant · January 23, 1969
- RICHARD PAUL RITZLERCorporal · February 23, 1969
- ROBERT EUGENE ASKAMPrivate First Class · June 17, 1969
- WILLIS EUGENE KERLIN JRSergeant · September 26, 1971
- DONALD CHARLES TALLMANPrivate First Class · October 30, 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.