Wesley Dallas Ratzel

Vietnam War
Unit421st Tactical Fighter Squadron
RankCaptain U.S. Air Force
Entered Service FromScranton Pennsylvania
Date of DeathMay 18 1972
StatusRecovered
Memorialized
Courts of the Missing
Court
A
421st Tactical Fighter Squadron
Notes
Captain Ratzel was a member of the 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron, Danang, South Vietnam. On May 18, 1972, he was the pilot of a McDonnell Douglas Phantom II Fighter (F-4D) on a mission near Kep, Ha Bac Province, North Vietnam, when his plane was shot down. His remains were recovered on December 15, 1988 and identified on June 1, 1989. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
rosetta medal
When an individual’s remains have been accounted for by the U.S. Department of Defense, a rosette is placed next to the name on the Wall/Tablet/Court of the Missing to mark that the person now rests in a known gravesite.