The Wall › Panel 5W › Iowa › Carl Anthony Palen
CARL ANTHONY PALEN
Specialist Six · U.S. Army
April 11, 1947 – January 3, 1971
Service recordCarl Anthony Palen, of Dubuque, Iowa, served as a Specialist Six in the U.S. Army. He was lost on January 3, 1971, in Binh Dinh Province, South Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 5W, Line 23 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 5W · Line 23
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. Army
- Rank
- Specialist Six (SP6)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- April 11, 1947
- Home of record
- Dubuque, Iowa (Dubuque County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- January 3, 1971
- Province
- Binh Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Presumed Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — Passenger (MC)
- First reported
- Missing
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
17 names on the Wall carry the date January 3, 1971; seven of them were lost in Bình Định Province. In January 1971, 259 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Aviation Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 21 of its members that month.
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 5W, Line 23
- ROBERT LYNN OLIVERCorporal · January 3, 1971
- DENNIS WILLIAM OMELIAChief Warrant Officer 3 · January 3, 1971
- MICHAEL DUANE PARSONSCaptain · January 3, 1971
- KENNETH POWERSChief Warrant Officer 2 · January 3, 1971
Same unit, same day
- LUIS GALLEGOS HOLGUINChief Warrant Officer 3 · Panel 5W, Line 22
- PATRICK JOSEPH MAGEESpecialist Six · Panel 5W, Line 22
- THOMAS RICHARD OKERLUNDChief Warrant Officer 3 · Panel 5W, Line 22
- DENNIS WILLIAM OMELIAChief Warrant Officer 3 · Panel 5W, Line 23
- MICHAEL DUANE PARSONSCaptain · Panel 5W, Line 23
- FERRIS ANSEL RHODES JRMajor · Panel 5W, Line 24
From Dubuque
- RONALD WILLIAM MEYERSecond Lieutenant · June 16, 1966
- WILLIAM OWEN JUERGENSLance Corporal · September 8, 1966
- ROY ROGER BLEWETTPrivate First Class · November 5, 1966
- MICHAEL JOSEPH CLEMENSHospitalman · January 9, 1967
- PETER EVERETT COOKPrivate First Class · April 22, 1967
- JAMES CONRAD POWERSCaptain · May 26, 1967
- RICHARD EUGENE SUTHERLANDHospitalman · September 21, 1967
- MICHAEL THOMAS FITZGERALDHospitalman · January 31, 1968
- DANIEL H CHATFIELDSpecialist Four · May 16, 1968
- ELLAS LOUIS MIHALAKISSergeant · July 9, 1968
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.