The name of Navy ETR2 Richard Lewis Daniels is seen on The Wall in Washington DC, Sunday, May 8, 2011. A ceremony marked the addition of five new names, bringing the total to 58,272.

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall The Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington, D.C. today (May 30, 2011) contains the names of 58,272 men and women, which is five more than the week before. Among the deaths newly recorded in black granite is that of Navy electronics trainer Richard Lewis Daniels of Washougal, Washington, who was 23 when he died on March 1, 1971, aboard a U.S. Navy vessel at Dong Tam, Vietnam. He was not included earlier on The Wall and it was only 5 years ago that it was brought to the attention of the family that Richard's name was not on The Wall. 333 names have been added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial since the Wall was dedicated in 1982. Richard was an electronics adviser assigned to train South Vietnamese sailors as the Navy began transferring its Swift boats and other crafts to the South Vietnamese military, his hometown newspaper, The Columbian, reports. Richard was part of the Navy's river-based fleet. As an electronics adviser, he taught them to repair and troubleshoot communications and radar equipment. His brother, Roger Daniels, said Richard was on his third tour in Vietnam when he died as a result of his noncombat injuries. The Columbian online article also reports Roger Daniels was a U.S. Marine guarding the American embassy in Cambodia in 1971, and recalled an unexpected long-distance conversation with his older brother. "He called me on a field radio from Vietnam. He worked his way through a number of connections and called me at the embassy in Phnom Penh," Roger Daniels said. "We had a nice visit a month before he died. He was the same positive guy he'd always been". The family also has his last performance review. He was an outstanding sailor according to the report. His commanding officer wrote, in part: "Petty Officer Daniels has shown an exceptional and effective leadership and supervisory ability. He has spent many hours increasing his knowledge of Vietnamese..." "He is a highly trustworthy, dependable and dedicated individual." Roger Daniels said that the addition of his brother's name to The Wall and memorial ceremony on May 30, 2011 will help bring closure to a wound the family has felt for 40 years. A third brother, Mike, is a U.S. Army veteran.

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