The Wall › Panel 33E › California › William James Desilets
WILLIAM JAMES DESILETS
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
September 14, 1945 – January 5, 1968
Service recordWilliam James Desilets, of Anaheim, California, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on January 5, 1968, in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam, at age 22. His name is inscribed on Panel 33E, Line 46 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 33E · Line 46
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
Did you know him? Family members and friends are invited to share a photograph or a memory. Nothing is posted until it has been reviewed.
Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Specialist Four (SP4)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- September 14, 1945
- Home of record
- Anaheim, California (Orange County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 5, 1968
- Age
- 22
- Province
- Quang Nam
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
52 names on the Wall carry the date January 5, 1968; seven of them were lost in Quảng Nam Province. In January 1968, 1,546 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 110 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 33E, Line 46
- FREDIE RAY COXPrivate First Class · January 5, 1968
- GUILLERMO DELEON JRPrivate First Class · January 5, 1968
- RICHARD E DEVORESergeant First Class · January 5, 1968
- LARRY ARTHUR DIEFENBACHSpecialist Four · January 5, 1968
Same unit, same day
- SIDNEY HOMER COOLERPrivate First Class · Panel 33E, Line 45
- ARTHUR JAMES EARLESPrivate First Class · Panel 33E, Line 45
From Anaheim
- JAMES LEAVELL PURSERChief Warrant Officer 2 · June 19, 1965
- JOHN VELCO FIORENTINSecond Lieutenant · November 23, 1965
- BOBBY JOE ALBERTONChief Master Sergeant · May 31, 1966
- DENNIS JOHN CULLENPrivate First Class · June 25, 1966
- MICHAEL RAY MCCOMMONSPrivate First Class · December 11, 1966
- ROBERT FRANK VERNESPrivate First Class · February 16, 1967
- MAX ANDY LOPEZSpecialist Four · March 8, 1967
- JOHN ALAN FRICKPrivate First Class · May 2, 1967
- DAVID WILLIAM LINNCorporal · May 7, 1967
- JAMES ARTHUR NICHOLSONLance Corporal · May 14, 1967
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.