Wills, Francis Desales
Army Private 1st class
Francis Desales Wills, age 21, from LaPlata, Maryland, Charles county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, February 26, 1966
Death details: On February 26, 1966, two members of a U.S. Army long range reconnaissance patrol from the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, were directed by the patrol leader to conduct a route reconnaissance near the patrol base in the Phu Yen Province, South Vietnam. The two soldiers left the patrol base and were never seen again. Eventually, it was learned that the two patrol members had become involved in a firefight with enemy soldiers and one of them was killed and the other captured. The captured soldier died in enemy custody. Private First Class Francis Desales Wills, who joined the U.S. Army from Maryland, served with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. He was the member of the patrol killed during the firefight, and his remains were not recovered. Today, Private First Class Wills is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com