The Wall › Panel 24W › Idaho › William Whitby Olsen
WILLIAM WHITBY OLSEN
Sergeant · U.S. Army
August 26, 1947 – May 23, 1969
Service recordWilliam Whitby Olsen, of Pocatello, Idaho, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on May 23, 1969, in Kien Hoa Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 24W, Line 88 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 24W · Line 88
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)
- 9 INF DIV
- Born
- August 26, 1947
- Home of record
- Pocatello, Idaho (Bannock County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 23, 1969
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Kien Hoa
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
56 names on the Wall carry the date May 23, 1969; six of them were lost in Kien Hoa Province. In May 1969, 1,456 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 9th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 82 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 24W, Line 88
- EDWARD MENDEZ-QUINTANASpecialist Four · May 23, 1969
- ROY C NEWSOMESpecialist Four · May 23, 1969
- JOHN DAVID OLENICKSergeant · May 23, 1969
- RONALD RAY WARDPrivate First Class · May 23, 1969
Same unit, same day
- GARY ONEAL GRIFFINSpecialist Four · Panel 24W, Line 84
- KENNETH WARREN KRUKEMYERPrivate First Class · Panel 24W, Line 86
- ROBERT PETER SCIBILIASpecialist Four · Panel 24W, Line 90
- JAMES WALTER SPEERCorporal · Panel 24W, Line 90
- JOHN MICHAEL ODONNELLSergeant · Panel 24W, Line 91
- JAMES EDWARD WORKMANPrivate First Class · Panel 24W, Line 91
From Pocatello
- GRANT LEROY CLARKCorporal · October 30, 1965
- MICHAEL LEE CROUSONPrivate First Class · December 10, 1966
- RONALD GRANT MOTTISHAWSergeant · February 16, 1967
- CURTIS RICHARD BOHLSCHEIDCaptain · June 11, 1967
- WILLIAM E LEMMONSMajor · June 18, 1967
- ROBERT WILBUR LARISONCorporal · November 1, 1967
- GARY VIRGIL FRAZIERPrivate First Class · March 2, 1968
- MICHAEL FRANK GREENSpecialist Four · March 10, 1968
- MICHAEL LEE POLETTILance Corporal · September 10, 1968
- DOUGLAS NOEL ROWECorporal · March 9, 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.