The Wall › Panel 40E › New York › Walter Earl Vonderchek
WALTER EARL VONDERCHEK
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
June 3, 1948 – February 20, 1968
Service recordWalter Earl Vonderchek, of Horseheads, New York, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on February 20, 1968, in Gia Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 40E, Line 49 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 40E · Line 49
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
Did you know him? Family members and friends are invited to share a photograph or a memory. Nothing is posted until it has been reviewed.
Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Specialist Four (SP4)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 INF DIV
- Born
- June 3, 1948
- Home of record
- Horseheads, New York (Chemung County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 20, 1968
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Gia Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
76 names on the Wall carry the date February 20, 1968; 21 of them were lost in Gia Dinh Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 125 of its members that month.
He died in Gia Dinh Province while the Tet Offensive was under way. Beginning on the night of 30–31 January 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces attacked more than 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. February 1968 was the deadliest month of the war for Americans.
Also on Panel 40E, Line 49
- RONALD MICHAEL URBANSKISpecialist Four · February 20, 1968
- DAVID N VALERIOSpecialist Four · February 20, 1968
- JAMES LARRY WESTSpecialist Four · February 20, 1968
- ALBERT CLARENCE WOODS JRSergeant · February 20, 1968
Same unit, same day
- JAMES ALBERT ANDERSONPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 35
- RAY D CROPPERSpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 38
- KENNETH LLOYD FETTERSergeant · Panel 40E, Line 38
- JEFFREY WALLACE GREENFirst Lieutenant · Panel 40E, Line 39
- STEPHEN MICHAEL HANSENSpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 40
- DONALD LEE HERNDONSpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 40
- JOSE BABAUTA HERRERAPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 41
- JEFFREY LYNN HOLBROOKPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 41
- DANIEL HOLCOMBStaff Sergeant · Panel 40E, Line 41
- JIMMIE DOUGLAS JONESSpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 42
- GUY EUGENE LEESergeant · Panel 40E, Line 43
- DONALD JAMES LOZANOPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 43
- MARVIN LEO MILLERPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 44
- GALEN ERICK OHLSONSpecialist Five · Panel 40E, Line 45
- ALFRED RICHARD OLSONSpecialist Five · Panel 40E, Line 45
- DAVID LLOYD MOREHOUSEPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 46
- DONALD DEWAYNE PHILBECKPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 46
- MICHAEL W PICARDSergeant · Panel 40E, Line 47
- DARRYL WARREN A POINTERCorporal · Panel 40E, Line 47
- ARNOLD W PRICEPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 47
- PAUL RICHARD URBAN JRCorporal · Panel 40E, Line 48
From Horseheads
- TERRY WARD MOTTPrivate First Class · April 20, 1968
- JACK MERRIEL STRONGCorporal · July 29, 1968
- ROBERT CHARLES SCHELL JRSpecialist Four · August 24, 1969
- STEPHEN LEO YONTZSergeant · May 12, 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.