The Wall › Panel 34W › Pennsylvania › William Craig Olson
WILLIAM CRAIG OLSON
Sergeant · U.S. Army
December 6, 1947 – January 15, 1969
Service recordWilliam Craig Olson, of Russell, Pennsylvania, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on January 15, 1969, in Quang Ngai Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 34W, Line 9 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 34W · Line 9
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
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 11 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- December 6, 1947
- Home of record
- Russell, Pennsylvania (Warren County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 15, 1969
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Quang Ngai
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
44 names on the Wall carry the date January 15, 1969; 11 of them were lost in Quảng Ngãi Province. In January 1969, 985 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 11th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 30 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 34W, Line 9
- GARFIELD M LANGHORNPrivate First Class · January 15, 1969
- TED ERNEST MCCLINTOCKSergeant Major · January 15, 1969
- JERRY DOYLE PEARCELance Corporal · January 15, 1969
- JAMES BIRCH PETTEYSWarrant Officer 1 · January 15, 1969
Same unit, same day
- JERRY WAYNE LANEYPrivate First Class · Panel 34W, Line 8
- JOHN MICHAEL TREJOPrivate First Class · Panel 34W, Line 11
- MARVIN FRANCIS WEHRSpecialist Four · Panel 34W, Line 12
- MARION WITHERSPOONSpecialist Four · Panel 34W, Line 12
From Russell
- JOHN GARY GERTSCHStaff Sergeant · July 19, 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.