The Wall › Panel 5W › Alabama › Willis Calvin Crear
WILLIS CALVIN CREAR
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
January 8, 1950 – February 15, 1971
Service recordWillis Calvin Crear, of Birmingham, Alabama, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on February 15, 1971, in Laos, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 5W, Line 105 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 5W · Line 105
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
- Regular
- Occupation
- Aircraft Maintenance Apprentice (67A)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- January 8, 1950
- Home of record
- Birmingham, Alabama (Jefferson County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 15, 1971
- Age
- 21
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
Context · from the records
What was happening
33 names on the Wall carry the date February 15, 1971. In February 1971, 387 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 50 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while Operation Lam Son 719 was under way. In Lam Son 719 (February–March 1971), South Vietnamese troops drove into Laos to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail, carried and supported by U.S. helicopters and aircraft; more than 100 U.S. helicopters were lost.
Also on Panel 5W, Line 105
- JOSEPH SCOTT BURKEWarrant Officer 1 · February 15, 1971
- JAMES PAUL COBBSergeant · February 15, 1971
- DAVID WAYNE COMBERPrivate First Class · February 15, 1971
- RICHARD NEIL CONCANNONChief Warrant Officer 2 · February 15, 1971
Same unit, same day
- RICHARD NORMAN BRUSOSpecialist Six · Panel 5W, Line 104
- JOSEPH SCOTT BURKEWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 5W, Line 105
- JAMES PAUL COBBSergeant · Panel 5W, Line 105
- RICHARD NEIL CONCANNONChief Warrant Officer 2 · Panel 5W, Line 105
- DONALD EVERETT CRONESpecialist Four · Panel 5W, Line 106
- STEVEN GLENN ENGLANDSergeant · Panel 5W, Line 106
- BARRY FRANK FIVELSONWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 5W, Line 106
- JOHN WILLIAM HOWELLSergeant · Panel 5W, Line 106
- ZEBULON MURPHY JOHNSON JRSpecialist Four · Panel 5W, Line 106
- MARVIN MAURICE LEONARDChief Warrant Officer 2 · Panel 5W, Line 107
- LARRY FREEMAN OTTCorporal · Panel 5W, Line 107
- JOHN LYNN POWERSSpecialist Four · Panel 5W, Line 107
- RICHARD BENNETT RINEHARTCorporal · Panel 5W, Line 108
- WILLIAM DANIEL SAPPChief Warrant Officer 2 · Panel 5W, Line 108
- JAMES LEROY SMITHFirst Lieutenant · Panel 5W, Line 108
- YOSHIO TAKEHARASergeant First Class · Panel 5W, Line 109
- JAMES HARRY TAYLORSecond Lieutenant · Panel 5W, Line 109
- GABRIEL TRUJILLOSergeant · Panel 5W, Line 110
- GERALD PAUL WICKCaptain · Panel 5W, Line 110
From Birmingham
- SHERMAN ELLIOT WILLIAMSSpecialist Five · July 9, 1965
- CARL WILLIAM MANNPrivate First Class · September 21, 1965
- ROBERT WARREN ALLENPrivate First Class · October 3, 1965
- GENE WILLIAM WILLIAMSSpecialist Five · October 12, 1965
- JAMES J HOWARDSpecialist Five · November 1, 1965
- CLEO LOCKETTCorporal · November 8, 1965
- HAROLD JAMES BATTLEPrivate First Class · November 12, 1965
- HAROLD EUGENE WATKINSLance Corporal · November 12, 1965
- CHARLES WILLIAM STOREYStaff Sergeant · November 17, 1965
- RICHARD EARL HARPERSpecialist Four · January 12, 1966
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.