The Wall › Panel 16W › South Dakota › Walter A Renelt
WALTER A RENELT
Colonel · U.S. Air Force
April 24, 1929 – November 20, 1969
Service recordWalter A Renelt, of Wilmot, South Dakota, served as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He died on November 20, 1969, in Laos, at age 40. His name is inscribed on Panel 16W, Line 103 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 16W · Line 103
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
- Colonel (COL)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- 20 TASS
- Born
- April 24, 1929
- Home of record
- Wilmot, South Dakota (Roberts County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- November 20, 1969
- Age
- 40
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
34 names on the Wall carry the date November 20, 1969. In November 1969, 660 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
Also on Panel 16W, Line 103
- RODNEY KENT RANSONPrivate First Class · November 20, 1969
- BARRY JAMES SMITHSpecialist Four · November 20, 1969
- ELDON WILLIAM TOZERChief Petty Officer · November 20, 1969
- JON ARNOLD TURNERAirman · November 20, 1969
From Wilmot
- LAWRENCE JOHN FRAHMANMajor · July 2, 1966
- RONALD LE ROY REILSergeant First Class · September 21, 1968
- GERALD CLIFFORD SWAYZECaptain · December 30, 1969
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.