The Wall › Panel 25W › New Jersey › William Cornelius Ryan JR
WILLIAM CORNELIUS RYAN JR
First Lieutenant · U.S. Marine Corps
April 24, 1944 – May 11, 1969
Service recordWilliam Cornelius Ryan JR, of Bogota, New Jersey, served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on May 11, 1969, in Laos, at age 25. His name is inscribed on Panel 25W, Line 54 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 25W · Line 54
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
- First Lieutenant (1STLT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Frs Basic Ea-6a/B Electronic Warfare Officer (I) (7582)
- Unit (as recorded)
- VMFA 115 MAG 13 1 MAW
- Born
- April 24, 1944
- Home of record
- Bogota, New Jersey (Bergen County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 11, 1969
- Age
- 25
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
65 names on the Wall carry the date May 11, 1969. In May 1969, 1,456 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
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 25W, Line 54
- MICHAEL WAYNE GREENLance Corporal · May 11, 1969
- AARON LIEB ROSENSTREICHSpecialist Four · May 11, 1969
- JOHN MARSHALL RUCKERWarrant Officer 1 · May 11, 1969
- MICHAEL ALLEN SCHROEDERPrivate First Class · May 11, 1969
From Bogota
- JOSEPH JOHN SMITHFirst Lieutenant · February 4, 1969
- ALBERT STEPHEN GRAFFirst Lieutenant · August 29, 1969
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.