FRED LAMAR WHILES JR

Age: 20
Date of Birth: 08/27/1947
From: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Marital Status: Single

Private First Class, E-3, Selective Service

Military Occupation Specialty: 11B20 – Infantryman
Enlistment Date – 10/24/1967
Length of Service – Less than one year (194 days)

His tour began on April 5, 1968
Casualty incident was on May 8, 1968
Died of wounds on May 9, 1968 (24 days in Vietnam)
Casualty Code – A2-I-7
Ground Casualty
Hostile – Died of Wounds, Misadventure
Place of casualty – Kontum Province, Dak To District
Approximately seven kilometers southwest of Dak To basecamp.

Fred L. Whiles Jr. was killed in action by friendly fire when his unit was moving to engage an NVA force near Hill 1089 southwest of Dak To. UH-1B Huey gunships of the 7-17th Cavalry Squadron were engaging NVA rocket positions on the northern slope of the hill when they mistakenly identified Delta Company, 3-12 Infantry as an NVA element and engaged the American infantry company with 40mm grenades, rockets and automatic weapons fire. Three men were KIA and four others wounded in this event. Fred was severely wounded but survived the initial incident. He was evacuated to the 71st Evacuation Hospital in Pleiku where he succumbed to his wounds at 0735 hours on May 9th, 1968.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall
Panel 58E Line 2

PFC Fred L. Whiles’ decorations.

Top row (Badges) – Combat Infantryman Badge
Middle row – left to right (Individual Awards) – Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Bottom row (Unit Awards) – Presidential Unit Citation, Republic of Vietnam RVN Gallantry Cross Unit Citation

Whiles was also authorized to wear the M-14 Sharpshooter, M-16 Marksman and Expert 81mm Mortar badges.

Biography

Fred Lamar Whiles Jr. was the second child of Fred Sr. and Bernice Whiles. He was born on August 27th, 1947 in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Both he (Class of ’65) and his older sister Linda (Class of ’64) graduated from Nathan Hale High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

On Fred’s Wall of Faces page, he is remembered by Jon Ellis.

Services

Fred was buried with military honors at the Pawhuska City Cemetery in Pawhuska, Oklahoma on May 22nd, 1968. His body was escorted by Specialist Fourth Class Peter R. Rosso, who filed the report below upon the completion of his duties.

Additional information

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Wall of Faces – https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/55518/FRED-L-WHILES-JR/

May 8th, 1968 – https://abraveservice.org/donald-sperl-may-8-1968/