The Wall › Panel 32W › Massachusetts › Russell William Wendler
RUSSELL WILLIAM WENDLER
Lance Corporal · U.S. Marine Corps
June 19, 1948 – February 17, 1969
Service recordRussell William Wendler, of Somerville, Massachusetts, served as a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on February 17, 1969, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 32W, Line 51 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 32W · Line 51
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. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Lance Corporal (LCPL)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Radio Telegraph Operator (2533)
- Born
- June 19, 1948
- Home of record
- Somerville, Massachusetts (Middlesex County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 17, 1969
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Quang Tri
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
23 names on the Wall carry the date February 17, 1969; 12 of them were lost in Quảng Trị Province. In February 1969, 1,304 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Quảng Trị Province while Operation Dewey Canyon was under way. In Operation Dewey Canyon (22 January–18 March 1969) the 9th Marines struck North Vietnamese base areas in the Đa Krông and A Shau valleys, the last major Marine offensive of the war. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
Read the history
Also on Panel 32W, Line 51
- THOMAS WOODROW SANDERPrivate First Class · February 17, 1969
- CHARLES EARL SCHOOLCRAFTStaff Sergeant · February 17, 1969
- LEE VERN SILVERPrivate First Class · February 17, 1969
- JAMES DALE SNYDERLance Corporal · February 17, 1969
From Somerville
- THOMAS EDWARD MURRAYCorporal · December 29, 1965
- ROY JOHN HENDERSONPrivate First Class · March 15, 1966
- DANIEL BENJAMIN DUFFY JRCorporal · April 24, 1966
- WILLIAM DAVID HOLDENSergeant · February 16, 1967
- JOHN HERBERT SHALLAHPrivate First Class · March 7, 1967
- CLARK ALAN MILLERSpecialist Four · March 16, 1967
- KENNETH LAWRENCE GREENEPrivate First Class · June 22, 1967
- WILLIAM JOSEPH MCRAEPrivate · August 9, 1967
- JOHN JOSEPH MCNABBPrivate First Class · November 30, 1967
- JOHN DONALD KENNE MACLEANSergeant · February 4, 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.