John Gwin Ritch ★ Vietnam War Gold Star Veteran from Alabama
On November 10, 1968 Private First Class Ritch was declared a casualty of the Vietnam War. ★ He served with honor in the United States Marine Corps. ★ He is remembered by the people of Alabama. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
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Click to Submit Update Request for this Fallen Service Member▼ Content Integrity Note
Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of John Gwin Ritch is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2019-04-08 07:28:43.
Missing : Core Data
· Special awards and honors· Expanded biographical or service details
Missing : Supplemental Data
· Birth + childhood location· Educational background
· Marriage history
· Parents, family history
· Expanded references and citations
Service Details
| This Profile ID | 294931 |
| Service ID | 2353639 |
| Name | John Gwin Ritch |
| From | Parrish, Walker County, Alabama |
| Birth Date | November 18, 1948 |
| Casualty Date | November 10, 1968 |
| War | Vietnam War |
| Service Branch | Marine Corps |
| Rank | Private First Class |
| Specialty | Rifleman |
| Unit/Group | 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, M Company |
| Casualty Type | Died through hostile action .. artillery rocket mortar |
| Location | South Vietnam, Quang Tri province |
| Burial | East Dora Cemetery, Dora, Walker County, Alabama |
| Notable Awards |
★ Purple Heart |
| Remembered | John Gwin Ritch is buried or memorialized at East Dora Cemetery, Dora, Walker County, Alabama.  John is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 39w, Line 45. |
Additional Details
▼ Auto-Generated Profile Synopsis: John Gwin Ritch was serving his country during the Vietnam War when he gave his all in the line of duty. He had enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Entered the service via Regular Military. He began his tour on May 28, 1968. Ritch had the rank of Private First Class. His military occupation or specialty was Rifleman. Service number assignment was 2353639. Attached to 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, M Company.
He was born on November 18, 1948. According to our records Alabama was his home or enlistment state and Walker county has been included within the archival record. We have Parrish listed as his city. During his service in the Vietnam War, Marine Corps Private First Class Ritch experienced a traumatic event which ultimately resulted in loss of life on November 10, 1968. Recorded circumstances attributed to: Died through hostile action .. artillery rocket mortar. Incident location: South Vietnam, Quang Tri province. |
Commendations + Awards
Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.
★ Purple Heart
★ Combat Action Ribbon
★ Marksmanship Badge
★ National Defense Service Medal
★ Vietnam Campaign Medal
★ Vietnam Service Medal
★ Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
★ Vietnam Gallantry Cross
Notable Reference Sources
These are typically links to pages on external sites that have provided specific nodes of information. In most cases the information has some assurance of being crowd-sourced and vetted by a community of users.Alabama Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of Alabama who gave their all for their country. May their example of courage and sacrifice be our guide. To be strong and responsible in our lives as citizens of the world. Through honest daily actions, we honor them.
▼ Alabama was home to over 9,311 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 1,327 World War I
• 6,043 World War II
• 730 Korean War
• 1,211 Vietnam War
• 105 Prisoners of war
• 1,518 Missing in action
• 52 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 79 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 8 Medal of Honor recipients
• 6,043 World War II
• 730 Korean War
• 1,211 Vietnam War
• 105 Prisoners of war
• 1,518 Missing in action
• 52 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 79 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 8 Medal of Honor recipients
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▼ Primary Sources - These are repositories for artifacts, documents, diaries, manuscripts, and other information that serve as original and authoritative sources of information.
National Archives (NARA)
Library of Congress (LOC)
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
Findagrave.com
Ancestry.com
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