The Wall › Panel 11E › Iowa › William Francis Kern
WILLIAM FRANCIS KERN
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
April 26, 1945 – October 8, 1966
Service recordWilliam Francis Kern, of Algona, Iowa, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on October 8, 1966, in South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 11E, Line 61 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 11E · Line 61
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
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 25 INF DIV
- Born
- April 26, 1945
- Home of record
- Algona, Iowa (Kossuth County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- October 8, 1966
- Age
- 21
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
20 names on the Wall carry the date October 8, 1966. In October 1966, 516 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 25th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 53 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 11E, Line 61
- DENNIS GARLANDStaff Sergeant · October 8, 1966
- KYLE TURNER HARRINGTONSergeant First Class · October 8, 1966
- KEITH EUGENE HIXSpecialist Four · October 8, 1966
- GERALD EDWARD ISAACSONSpecialist Four · October 8, 1966
Same unit, same day
- FRANCISCO PERAZA CHAIRASpecialist Four · Panel 11E, Line 60
- HERMAN LEE COOPERSpecialist Four · Panel 11E, Line 60
- DENNIS GARLANDStaff Sergeant · Panel 11E, Line 61
- KEITH EUGENE HIXSpecialist Four · Panel 11E, Line 61
- BILLY LEESpecialist Four · Panel 11E, Line 62
- ALAN FRANK LUCASSpecialist Four · Panel 11E, Line 62
- BILLY FRANKLIN MOONEYHAMPrivate First Class · Panel 11E, Line 62
- ROSEVELT SIMMONS JRPrivate First Class · Panel 11E, Line 63
- HALLEY DON WHITLOCKPrivate First Class · Panel 11E, Line 63
- PAUL FRANK WIDTFELDT JRSpecialist Four · Panel 11E, Line 63
From Algona
- WILLIAM PATRICK HIGGINSFirst Lieutenant · December 28, 1969
- ROBERT DALE FARNHAMSergeant · January 14, 1970
- KENNETH ARTHUR THOMASONStaff Sergeant · April 3, 1971
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.