Pietrzak, Joseph Ray
Army Sergeant

Joseph Ray Pietrzak from Roseville, Ohio, Mushingum county. Their last known residence was in Roseville.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, February 10, 1971
Death details:  On March 16, 2004, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant Joseph Ray Pietrzak, missing from the Vietnam War.

Sergeant Pietrzak entered the U.S. Army from Ohio and served with the 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment. On February 10, 1971, he was the observer on an OH-6A Cayuse (tail number 66-17765) on a reconnaissance mission over Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. During the mission, the Cayuse was hit by enemy machine gun fire, caught fire, crashed, and exploded, killing SGT Pietrzak. Friendly forces were unable to recover his remains at the time due to the enemy presence in the area. In the 1990s, a joint investigative team located and excavated the crash site, recovering material evidence and fragmentary human remains. Forensic analysis was subsequently able to identify SGT Pietrzak from these remains.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency