The Wall › Panel 44E › California › Ernesto Martinez
ERNESTO MARTINEZ
Lance Corporal · U.S. Marine Corps
November 2, 1948 – March 14, 1968
Service recordErnesto Martinez, of San Jose, California, served as a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on March 14, 1968, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 44E, Line 49 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 44E · Line 49
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. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Lance Corporal (LCPL)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Rifleman (0311)
- Born
- November 2, 1948
- Home of record
- San Jose, California (Santa Clara County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 14, 1968
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Quang Tri
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
63 names on the Wall carry the date March 14, 1968; 17 of them were lost in Quảng Trị Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Quảng Trị Province while the siege of Khe Sanh was under way. From 21 January 1968, North Vietnamese divisions besieged the Marine combat base at Khe Sanh and its hill outposts near the Laotian border for 77 days, while U.S. aircraft dropped some 100,000 tons of bombs around it. Operation Pegasus reached the base on 8 April. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
Read the history
Also on Panel 44E, Line 49
- GERRY DEWAYNE MAJORLance Corporal · March 14, 1968
- KENNETH RALPH MCALLISTERPrivate First Class · March 14, 1968
- JOHN R MEDLEYSpecialist Four · March 14, 1968
- TERRY LYNN MILLERSpecialist Four · March 14, 1968
- ERNEST W WIGLESWORTH JRPetty Officer Third Class · March 14, 1968
From San Jose
- JOHN WILLIAM IRVING JRFirst Lieutenant · May 8, 1965
- WARREN LESTER ANDERSONCaptain · January 13, 1966
- AUGUSTO MARIA XAVIERFirst Lieutenant · March 10, 1966
- LARRY MICHAEL JORDANLieutenant Commander · April 12, 1966
- RICHARD MICHAEL PATRICKSpecialist Four · May 17, 1966
- GEORGE ALLEN WALDRONPrivate First Class · October 3, 1966
- DALLAS GEORGE GRUNDYPrivate First Class · November 5, 1966
- WILLIAM ALLEN PALENSKEPrivate First Class · November 18, 1966
- RAYMOND BERNAL JRSpecialist Four · November 30, 1966
- WILLIAM DONALD COOK JRSergeant · December 17, 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.