Denzil Dale Pettit
| Born | 7 Jan 1945, Loma Linda, San Bernardino Co, CA (HOR: Bloomington, San Bernardino Co) |
| Died | 27 Jan 1970, South Vietnam |
| Service Branch | Army |
| Rank | Private First Class |
| Rating or Job | |
| Unit | Recon Plt, HHC, 2nd BN, 35th INF Regt, 25th INF DIV |
| Campaign | |
| Military Citations | |
| Honors | |
| Family | Father: Dale Holden Pettit was born on June 16, 1922.
He had one son and two daughters with Opie Estelle Moore.
He died on March 5, 1992, in Los Angeles Co, CA, at 69,
and was buried in Chico, Butte Co, CA. Mother: Opie Estelle Moore was born on April 10, 1922, in Haworth, McCurtain Co, OK. She married her 2nd husband on April 23, 1990, in Clark Co, NV. She died on March 20, 2014, in Clark Co, NV, at 91. |
| Notes |
Pfc. Denzil Pettit Jan. 7, 1945 - Aug. 2, 1966 Chico Denzil Pettit was nuts over automobiles. Raised in Southern California with his mother, he lived in Chico with his father for three years before the draft notice came. Pettit learned from his father—-who owns a truck repair business—how to work on diesel engines. The two pitched in together to buy a low truck, which the younger Pettit planned to make a livelihood from after the service. ‘He wanted to take the shop over. He was crazy about the shop and that tow truck,” his father said. In early 1965, however, Pettit was drafted. After basic and advanced infantry training, he was sent to Vietnam. On Aug. 2, 1966, after Pettit had been nine months in-country, his unit was jumped by the Viet Cong. When he ran out to retrieve a wounded buddy, he was shot and killed by a sniper. Chico News & Review, May 26, 1988
56395095 PFC USA (MOS 11B10: Infantryman) Casualty Details: Killed by small arms fire Listed on the Gold Star Memorial Glen Oaks Memorial Park Burial: Green Acres Memorial Park & Mortuary, Bloomington, San Bernardino, Co, CA Bronze Star Medal w/V Device, Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Badge
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| Sources |
National Archives Chico News & Review Bill Edmiston |
| Mementos |