The Wall › Panel 1W › Pennsylvania › Wesley Dallas Ratzel
WESLEY DALLAS RATZEL
Captain · U.S. Air Force
March 28, 1947 – October 20, 1971
Service recordWesley Dallas Ratzel, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on October 20, 1971, in North Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 28 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 28
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
- Captain (CAPT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Pilot (1115F)
- Born
- March 28, 1947
- Home of record
- Scranton, Pennsylvania (Lackawanna County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- October 20, 1971
- Country
- North Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
Context · from the records
What was happening
Five names on the Wall carry the date October 20, 1971. In October 1971, 132 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The record places this loss in North Vietnam, outside South Vietnam — most often the sign of an air crew lost over the North or the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
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
On the Wall
Also on Panel 1W, Line 28
- CLYDE CURTIS LOVECaptain · May 18, 1972
- SANTIAGO HERRERA ESCOBARSpecialist Four · May 19, 1972
- DEAN KENT LEACHWarrant Officer 1 · May 19, 1972
- CLARENCE PAUL LEWISFirst Lieutenant · May 21, 1972
From Scranton
- JOHN FREDERICK ASHMANLance Corporal · December 23, 1965
- EDWARD JOSEPH HINCEWICZStaff Sergeant · January 13, 1966
- RICHARD HERMAN SCHMIDTMajor · May 17, 1966
- WILLIAM ROBERT BUCKLEYStaff Sergeant · June 30, 1966
- WILLIAM PAUL FAHEYPrivate First Class · February 28, 1967
- JAMES THOMAS REDDINGTONLance Corporal · March 23, 1967
- JAMES JOHN MURPHYPrivate First Class · November 5, 1967
- DAVID THOMAS ROZELLELance Corporal · January 21, 1968
- LEO JOHN MATYLEWICZSpecialist Four · March 26, 1968
- JAMES PATRICK CAWLEYCaptain · April 25, 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.