The Wall › Panel 10W › Wyoming › Ernest Claude Balland
ERNEST CLAUDE BALLAND
Staff Sergeant · U.S. Army
August 19, 1948 – May 25, 1970
Service recordErnest Claude Balland, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on May 25, 1970, in Cambodia, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 10W, Line 93 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 10W · Line 93
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
- Staff Sergeant (SSG)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- August 19, 1948
- Home of record
- Cheyenne, Wyoming (Laramie County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 25, 1970
- Age
- 21
- Country
- Cambodia
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
40 names on the Wall carry the date May 25, 1970. In May 1970, 917 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 127 of its members that month.
He died in Cambodia while the Cambodian incursion was under way. From 29 April to 30 June 1970, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces crossed into Cambodia to attack North Vietnamese base areas and supply caches; the announcement set off campus protests, including at Kent State.
Also on Panel 10W, Line 93
- GARY LYNN TAYLORSergeant · May 24, 1970
- NICHOLAS WHITTIER VROOMANSpecialist Four · May 24, 1970
- TOMMIE RAY ANGELLance Corporal · May 25, 1970
- CHARLES EDWARD BATCHELORCorporal · May 25, 1970
Same unit, same day
- GREGORY ALLEN BLAKENEYSpecialist Four · Panel 10W, Line 94
- HAROLD RAY BURTONCorporal · Panel 10W, Line 95
- MICHAEL JOHN CHAMBERLAINCorporal · Panel 10W, Line 95
- GARVIN WAYNE DILLSergeant · Panel 10W, Line 96
- GREGORY JOHN MAYNARDCorporal · Panel 10W, Line 98
- ROY JASPER SNYDERCorporal · Panel 10W, Line 100
- CHARLES ROYCE STEVENSONCorporal · Panel 10W, Line 101
From Cheyenne
- ROBERT FRED GUTHRIEPetty Officer Third Class · January 31, 1966
- MICHAEL RAY BECKPrivate First Class · March 28, 1966
- WILLIAM BERTUS ESSLINGERPrivate First Class · June 1, 1967
- LAWRENCE DANIEL TORREZLance Corporal · September 4, 1967
- EDWARD MCNALLYSpecialist Four · January 31, 1968
- FRANK MAXWELL DARLINGPrivate First Class · April 20, 1968
- JOSEPH ANTHONY PADILLASpecialist Four · May 18, 1968
- EDWARD RAYMOND BRAUNPrivate First Class · July 21, 1968
- DENNIS BARRY FARRISPrivate First Class · January 12, 1969
- JOHN WILLIAM KOBELIN IICorporal · March 6, 1969
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.