The Wall › Panel 10W › Arizona › Willard Donald Obrien
WILLARD DONALD OBRIEN
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
December 18, 1949 – May 11, 1970
Service recordWillard Donald Obrien, of Tucson, Arizona, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on May 11, 1970, in Cambodia, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 10W, Line 17 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 10W · Line 17
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
- Regular
- Occupation
- Cannon Fire Direction Specialist (13E)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 9 INF DIV
- Born
- December 18, 1949
- Home of record
- Tucson, Arizona (Pima County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 11, 1970
- Age
- 20
- Country
- Cambodia
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
22 names on the Wall carry the date May 11, 1970. In May 1970, 917 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 9th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 25 of its members that month.
He died in Cambodia while the Cambodian incursion was under way. From 29 April to 30 June 1970, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces crossed into Cambodia to attack North Vietnamese base areas and supply caches; the announcement set off campus protests, including at Kent State.
Also on Panel 10W, Line 17
- STEVEN WARREN BOEGLICorporal · May 11, 1970
- JAMES W CHARLESWORTH JRPrivate First Class · May 11, 1970
- RAYMOND DEAN ELLISStaff Sergeant · May 11, 1970
- ROBERT CHARLES GEIGERSpecialist Five · May 11, 1970
Same unit, same day
- MORGAN WILLIAM WEEDFirst Lieutenant · Panel 10W, Line 20
From Tucson
- JAMES ATLEE WHEELERCaptain · April 18, 1965
- VICTOR BRUCE KELLEYCaptain · April 28, 1965
- JOHN PATRICK BURNSPrivate First Class · July 7, 1965
- LAWRENCE WILLIAM JORDANLance Corporal · July 30, 1965
- MAX DUANE LUKENBACHCommander · December 22, 1965
- BOB CLARENCE HUNT JRSpecialist Four · January 29, 1966
- CLYDE L NORVELLE JRWarrant Officer 1 · March 30, 1966
- JAMES RILEY HOWELLCorporal · May 12, 1966
- DAVID WILLIAM JOHNSTONPrivate First Class · May 29, 1966
- WARREN ORISON KNEPPER JRSergeant · June 24, 1966
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.