Richard Daniels' two brothers Roger (USMC, Vietnam veteran) and Michael (USA veteran) will both join us at The Wall on May 30 to honor their brother.

Roger Daniels says, "Having Richard's name on The Wall helps to close the wound. But this wound will never be completely healed. Our family is very, very proud of our brother and his service."

Roger went on to say: "And in time it will be the only permanent record of his life on earth. I'm grateful to everyone who helped get his name added. This was a commitment I made to my brother Richard – that I would see it to the end – to have his name added to The Wall . . . and damn it, we got it done."

ETR2 Richard Daniels was an electronics technician on his third tour of Vietnam when he died of non-combat gunshot wounds in March 1971. He was part of the U.S. Navy's Brown Water Navy, also known as swift boats.

Daniels spoke Vietnamese and taught the South Vietnamese how to speak English. He also taught them how to calibrate, maintain and repair all the electronics on the boats. According to his brother, Richard Daniels also played guitar, was a good singer, and he enjoyed fishing, camping and being with his family. A typical all-American guy.

Richard Daniels did not serve alone. Nor did he die alone.

His name and four others were added to The Wall this year – and more will follow. They represent the hundreds of thousands who served.

Taken from: Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
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Home of Record: Washougal, WA
Date of birth: 09/06/1947

MILITARY DATA
Service: United States Navy
Grade at loss: E5
Rank: Electronics Technician 2nd Class
ID No: 9149242
MOS: ETR: Electronics Technician (Radar)
Length Service: 6
Unit: RVN RID-42, NAVAL ADV GROUP, USNAVFORV

CASUALTY DATA
Start Tour: 11/04/1970
Incident Date: 03/01/1971
Casualty Date: 03/01/1971
Age at Loss: 23
Location: Dinh Tuong Province, South Vietnam
Remains: Body recovered
Casualty Type: Non-hostile, died of other causes
Casualty Reason: Ground casualty
Casualty Detail: Other Causes

ON THE WALL Panel 04W Line 108

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by Abbey Gibb, KGW Staff

Posted on May 9, 2011 at 6:33 AM

Updated Monday, May 9 at 8:35 AM

WASHOUGAL, Wash. – One of a handful of new names etched into the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., last weekend was that of a Washougal man killed 40 years ago.

Richard Daniels was 23 years old when he died in 1971 aboard a U.S. Navy vessel, in what was then South Vietnam.

"He died from non combat injuries," said his brother, Roger Daniels. "Under the first criteria, you had to die in a fire fight and you had to die in-country to have your name included on the wall."

For years Richard's sole memorial was one at the Port of Washougal. But five years ago, the U.S. government changed the rules so men like Daniels could be included.

It took another five years of pushing by Daniels' family to get the name approved.

"This is a way my brother can have a permanent legacy where his name will be etched in stone," Roger Daniels said.

The etching of the names was expected to take the rest of the week to finish.

A major ceremony was scheduled for Memorial Day to honor the five men whose names will be added.