The Wall › Panel 35E › California › Willard Edward Nelson
WILLARD EDWARD NELSON
Lance Corporal · U.S. Marine Corps
October 16, 1948 – January 30, 1968
Service recordWillard Edward Nelson, of Walnut Creek, California, served as a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on January 30, 1968, in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 35E, Line 77 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 35E · Line 77
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. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Lance Corporal (LCPL)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Rifleman (0311)
- Born
- October 16, 1948
- Home of record
- Walnut Creek, California (Contra Costa County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 30, 1968
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Quang Nam
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
99 names on the Wall carry the date January 30, 1968; 28 of them were lost in Quảng Nam Province. In January 1968, 1,546 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Quảng Nam 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 35E, Line 77
- PATRICK JAMES MCKINLEYLance Corporal · January 30, 1968
- GEORGE WAYNE MCREYNOLDSSpecialist Five · January 30, 1968
- TIMOTHY CARL OCHSSpecialist Four · January 30, 1968
- ROBERT VERNON PETERSONLance Corporal · January 30, 1968
From Walnut Creek
- ROBERT JOHN REILLY JRLance Corporal · December 9, 1965
- JOHN PATRICK BURKEPrivate First Class · February 14, 1967
- FRANK CHICO TORRES JRSpecialist Four · May 5, 1967
- JAMES KEVIN KOEHLERLance Corporal · June 11, 1967
- DAVID ALAN OBERLELance Corporal · October 18, 1967
- RICHARD CURTISPrivate First Class · December 12, 1967
- ERNEST FREDERICK LAWRENCEPrivate First Class · February 16, 1968
- BRUCE FRANCIS MCMILLANCaptain · April 11, 1968
- FRED JOE HAYESStaff Sergeant · April 13, 1968
- ROBERT STANLEY CROKELance Corporal · April 27, 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.