The Wall › Panel 12W › Minnesota › Thomas Lawrence Ryan
THOMAS LAWRENCE RYAN
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
May 5, 1950 – March 17, 1970
Service recordThomas Lawrence Ryan, of Prior Lake, Minnesota, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on March 17, 1970, in Bien Hoa Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 12W, Line 14 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 12W · Line 14
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
- Specialist Four (SP4)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Utility Helicopter Repairer (67N)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- May 5, 1950
- Home of record
- Prior Lake, Minnesota (Scott County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 17, 1970
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Bien Hoa
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Died of other causes
Context · from the records
What was happening
22 names on the Wall carry the date March 17, 1970; he was the only one lost in Bien Hoa Province that day. In March 1970, 625 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Aviation Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 35 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 12W, Line 14
- RICHARD ALLEN MOHRSergeant · March 17, 1970
- RAY MURPHYSpecialist Four · March 17, 1970
- TRUMAN DENNIS NORRISChief Warrant Officer 2 · March 17, 1970
- ALEXANDER FRANK POTASSergeant · March 17, 1970
From Prior Lake
- PATRICK FRANCIS CAWLEYWarrant Officer 1 · May 21, 1970
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.