More detail on this person: His name was
Ronnie Wayne Walzel. Date of Death: 6/7/1971.
He is buried in his hometown of Woodsboro, TX
78393 at St Bernard Cemetary. My wife and I grew
up in Woodsboro also. The last time I saw him I
was out of the US Army between my first and
second enlistment and he was in High School. I
never saw him again, but my wife (now deceased)
and his wife met and became friends. They were
both staying in Woodsboro while we were in
Vietnam. I never met his wife. On his grave is
what appears to be a govenment issued marker. It
indicates: CPT BSM AM W/18. This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site:
03/10/2024
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I don't know what unit he was in. In a letter
from my wife dated August 22, 1969 she wrote that
CPT Ronnie Walzel was a helicopter pilot in
Vietnam. In another letter from her dated August
27, 1969 she mentioned that Patricia Walzel had
come to visit. In a letter dated December 7,
1969, she wrote that Patricia Walzel was leaving
for Hawaii. Based on those letters, I am inclined
to think that he was in Vietnam 1969-1970.
Yesterday, I made contact with a High School
classmate of mine. He did a three year enlistment
in the Army and then went back to Woodsboro and
continued farming the rest of his life. He told
me that Ronnie died in a civilian aircraft
accident. He told me that Ronnie was a passenger
in a civilian aircraft on his way home to Ft.
Rucker where he was stationed at the time and that
they went down somewhere in the New England
area. He could not remember which state. He
knows some of Ronnies family and will be letting
me know more soon.
From: Frank Basaldua,
Ronnie Walzel flew Cessna L19's for the 203rd
Hawkeye RAC. Recon aircraft that flew very low and
very slow. The L19 or O 1 Bird dog was a holdover
from the Korean War. I flew back seat to Walzel
many times. In my opinion he was the best pilot I
ever flew with. I was in Viet Nam from Sept 1969
to Nov 1970, He was there most of that time. I
tried to connect with him a few years ago not
realizing he had passed. We did have some fun
flying together in the central highlands of Viet
Nam.
From: Steven Bakkum