The Wall › Panel 34E › California › William Henry Reedy JR
WILLIAM HENRY REEDY JR
Petty Officer Third Class · U.S. Navy
September 29, 1947 – January 16, 1968
Service recordWilliam Henry Reedy JR, of Merced, California, served as a Petty Officer Third Class in the U.S. Navy. He died on January 16, 1968, in North Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 34E, Line 60 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 34E · Line 60
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. Navy
- Rank
- Petty Officer Third Class (PO3)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Aviation Ordnanceman (AO)
- Unit (as recorded)
- USS KITTY HAWK CVA 63
- Born
- September 29, 1947
- Home of record
- Merced, California (Merced County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 16, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Country
- North Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — Passenger (MC)
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
22 names on the Wall carry the date January 16, 1968. In January 1968, 1,546 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “USS KITTY HAWK CVA 63”, his unit in the record, lost 3 of its members that month.
He died in North Vietnam while Operation Rolling Thunder was under way. Operation Rolling Thunder (March 1965–November 1968) was the sustained U.S. bombing campaign against North Vietnam, flown by Air Force fighter-bombers from Thailand and Navy aircraft from carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin against some of the densest air defenses in the world.
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
Also on Panel 34E, Line 60
- DAVID LOUIS PERKETTPrivate First Class · January 16, 1968
- HOMER EARL PIERCE JRPrivate First Class · January 16, 1968
- HAROLD E STANTONStaff Sergeant · January 16, 1968
- WILLIAM JOSEPH THOMPSONLieutenant Commander · January 16, 1968
Same unit, same day
- ORVILLE DALE COOLEYLieutenant · Panel 34E, Line 58
- WILLIAM JOSEPH THOMPSONLieutenant Commander · Panel 34E, Line 60
From Merced
- JUAN BORJA VALTIERRALance Corporal · January 5, 1966
- ROBERT THOMAS VERGANOPrivate First Class · June 27, 1966
- JAMMIE VAN FRANKLINStaff Sergeant · July 26, 1967
- WILLIAM E LAWSONMaster Sergeant · September 9, 1967
- JOHN WILLIAM MCMASTERPrivate First Class · October 8, 1967
- JIMMIE WAYNE JONESCorporal · October 22, 1967
- JAMES JOSEPH WRIGHTLieutenant Commander · November 2, 1967
- JOHN HOWARD SUYDAM IIISpecialist Four · February 12, 1968
- RICHARD GRANADOSSpecialist Four · March 5, 1968
- RALPH HENRY PADILLAPrivate · June 12, 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.