The Wall › Panel 1W › Kentucky › Alan Paul Mateja
ALAN PAUL MATEJA
Major · U.S. Air Force
July 29, 1945 – April 16, 1972
Service recordAlan Paul Mateja, of Louisville, Kentucky, served as a Major in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on April 16, 1972, in North Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 1 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 1
Names are inscribed in the order of loss, starting at Panel 1E at the apex and ending at Panel 1W. At the Memorial, find the panel number at the base and count down from the top line.
Remember
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Air Force
- Rank
- Major (MAJ)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- 17 WWS 388 TFW
- Born
- July 29, 1945
- Home of record
- Louisville, Kentucky (Jefferson County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- April 16, 1972
- Country
- North Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
Four names on the Wall carry the date April 16, 1972. In April 1972, 106 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “17 WWS 388 TFW”, his unit in the record, lost 2 of its members that month.
He died in North Vietnam while the Easter Offensive was under way. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched its largest offensive since 1968, attacking across the DMZ, toward An Lộc and into the Central Highlands. By then few U.S. ground troops remained; American advisers and air power fought alongside the South Vietnamese.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 1W, Line 1
- LARRY ALLEN TRIMBLECaptain · April 15, 1972
- ORVIN CLARENCE JONES JRLieutenant Colonel · April 16, 1972
- CHARLES DAVID LANDISPrivate First Class · April 16, 1972
- ROBERT ALLEN STERLINGPetty Officer Third Class · April 16, 1972
Same unit, same day
- ORVIN CLARENCE JONES JRLieutenant Colonel · Panel 1W, Line 1
From Louisville
- FERGUS COLEMAN GROVES IICaptain · February 2, 1962
- ROBERT SHERMAN MOSIERSpecialist Five · February 10, 1965
- DON IRA WILLIAMSONColonel · October 24, 1964
- DONALD GORDON RADCLIFFMajor · August 18, 1965
- LEE ROY JAMESGunnery Sergeant · September 5, 1965
- JERRY DWAYNE UNDERWOODPrivate First Class · September 18, 1965
- GARY LOUIS DOWELLCorporal · October 27, 1965
- THOMAS EDWARD THAYER JRSergeant Major · November 8, 1965
- BOBBY LEE FAVORSSergeant · February 4, 1966
- KENNETH RUSHPrivate First Class · February 7, 1966
Source. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Casualty Analysis System, Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File (as of April 29, 2008), Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Record Group 330, National Archives (NAID 2240992). Panel and line as recorded in that file. This page presents the official record and its historical context; no biography has been written for him yet. See something wrong? Report a correction.