William Joseph Oakley ★ Vietnam War Gold Star Veteran from Connecticut
On May 28, 1965 Private First Class Oakley was declared a casualty of the Vietnam War. ★ He served with honor in the United States Army. ★ He is remembered by the people of Connecticut. ★ 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 William Joseph Oakley is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile has not been edited recently and is overdue for our attention.
Missing : Core Data
· Military occupation or specialty· Burial or memorial location
· 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 | 290714 |
| Service ID | 11442778 |
| Name | William Joseph Oakley |
| From | Waterbury, New Haven County, Connecticut |
| Birth Date | September 24, 1946 |
| Casualty Date | May 28, 1965 |
| War | Vietnam War |
| Service Branch | Army |
| Rank | Private First Class |
| Unit/Group | United States Army Vietnam USARV, 145th Aviation Battalion, 118th AHC |
| Casualty Type | Died through non-hostile action .. air crash on land |
| Location | South Vietnam, Long Khanh province |
| Notable Awards | ★ National Defense Service Medal ★ Vietnam Campaign Medal ★ Vietnam Service Medal |
| Remembered |  William is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 01e, Line 126. |
Additional Details
▼ Auto-Generated Profile Synopsis: William Joseph Oakley 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 Army. Entered the service via Regular Military. He began his tour on February 23, 1965. Oakley had the rank of Private First Class. Service number assignment was 11442778. Attached to United States Army Vietnam USARV, 145th Aviation Battalion, 118th AHC.
He was born on September 24, 1946. According to our records Connecticut was his home or enlistment state and New Haven county has been included within the archival record. We have Waterbury listed as his city. During his service in the Vietnam War, Army Private First Class Oakley experienced a traumatic event which ultimately resulted in loss of life on May 28, 1965. Recorded circumstances attributed to: Died through non-hostile action .. air crash on land. Incident location: South Vietnam, Long Khanh 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.
★ National Defense Service Medal
★ Vietnam Campaign Medal
★ Vietnam Service Medal
★ Army 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.Connecticut Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of Connecticut 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.
▼ Connecticut was home to over 7,365 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 1,409 World War I
• 5,015 World War II
• 325 Korean War
• 616 Vietnam War
• 106 Prisoners of war
• 1,300 Missing in action
• 16 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 63 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 4 Medal of Honor recipients
• 5,015 World War II
• 325 Korean War
• 616 Vietnam War
• 106 Prisoners of war
• 1,300 Missing in action
• 16 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 63 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 4 Medal of Honor recipients
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Roy "Joker"
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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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