The Wall › Panel 30E › Oklahoma › Walter Ray Riddle
WALTER RAY RIDDLE
Private First Class · U.S. Army
February 9, 1946 – November 19, 1967
Service recordWalter Ray Riddle, of Anadarko, Oklahoma, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on November 19, 1967, in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 30E, Line 31 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 30E · Line 31
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
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- February 9, 1946
- Home of record
- Anadarko, Oklahoma (Caddo County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- November 19, 1967
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Kontum
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
77 names on the Wall carry the date November 19, 1967; 42 of them were lost in Kon Tum Province. In November 1967, 1,133 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 4th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 142 of its members that month.
He died in Kon Tum Province while the Battle of Đắk Tô was under way. Around Đắk Tô in the Central Highlands (3–23 November 1967), the 4th Infantry Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade fought North Vietnamese regiments for the hills along the border, ending with the assault on Hill 875 on Thanksgiving Day. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
Also on Panel 30E, Line 31
- THOMAS OLEARNICKSpecialist Four · November 19, 1967
- ANDREW JOHN OROSZSpecialist Four · November 19, 1967
- MARK CARSON PETERSENCorporal · November 19, 1967
- LESLEY WAYNE REEDStaff Sergeant · November 19, 1967
Same unit, same day
- DAVID WILLIAM BARKFELTSpecialist Four · Panel 30E, Line 22
- JAMES ALLEN BELVEALPrivate First Class · Panel 30E, Line 22
- JOSEPH GENE GREGGPrivate First Class · Panel 30E, Line 26
- RONALD DEAN KINGPrivate First Class · Panel 30E, Line 28
- JOE L LYONSStaff Sergeant · Panel 30E, Line 29
- TYRONE CECIL MARSDENSpecialist Four · Panel 30E, Line 29
- PEDRO RODRIGUEZ MONTANEZPrivate First Class · Panel 30E, Line 30
- LESLEY WAYNE REEDStaff Sergeant · Panel 30E, Line 31
- JIMMY DON ROBERSONPrivate First Class · Panel 30E, Line 32
From Anadarko
- EUGENE LEONARD ARANDAPrivate First Class · September 24, 1965
- JOHN ARTHUR EDDYChief Warrant Officer 3 · May 4, 1966
- JAMES LARRY MCBRIDELance Corporal · July 2, 1967
- ALBERT JOSEPH SMITHLieutenant Colonel · June 16, 1969
- RONALD JACK WARDColonel · December 18, 1972
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.