Patrick Loyal Fricke

Patrick Loyal Fricke was born on March 12, 1951 and raised in Le Claire, IA. Fricke joined the Army and trained as an airborne infantryman while achieving the rank of Specialist 4th Class. SP4 Fricke deployed to Southeast Asia in October 1970 and was assigned to Company B, 4th Battalion, 503rd Infantry in the 173rd Airborne Brigade. The young Iowan was killed on March 7, 1971 from wounds inflicted by hostile small arms fire. He died in the Binh Dinh Province, South Vietnam. He was 19 years old at the time of his death. Fricke was posthumously promoted to Sergeant by the U.S. Army.