The Wall › Panel 37E › Illinois › Gerald F Pelzmann
GERALD F PELZMANN
First Lieutenant · U.S. Army
January 21, 1942 – February 5, 1968
Service recordGerald F Pelzmann, of Skokie, Illinois, served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He died on February 5, 1968, in Gia Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 26. His name is inscribed on Panel 37E, Line 42 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 37E · Line 42
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
- First Lieutenant (1LT)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantry Unit Commander (1542)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- January 21, 1942
- Home of record
- Skokie, Illinois (Cook County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 5, 1968
- Age
- 26
- Province
- Gia Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
83 names on the Wall carry the date February 5, 1968; seven of them were lost in Gia Dinh Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 144 of its members that month.
He died in Gia Dinh Province while the Tet Offensive was under way. Beginning on the night of 30–31 January 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces attacked more than 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. February 1968 was the deadliest month of the war for Americans.
Also on Panel 37E, Line 42
- GREGORY ALLAN MUSZALSKISpecialist Four · February 5, 1968
- THEODORE ARTHUR PAPKEWarrant Officer 1 · February 5, 1968
- WILLIAM TOD POTTERCaptain · February 5, 1968
- JAMES EARL PRIDEAUXLance Corporal · February 5, 1968
Same unit, same day
- RONALD LEROY MEANSSpecialist Four · Panel 37E, Line 40
From Skokie
- ROBERT ALAN PEACHPrivate First Class · June 22, 1966
- ANDREW HARRY SHIMPSpecialist Five · June 9, 1967
- SHELDON BORIS SCHULMANFirst Lieutenant · June 19, 1967
- WILLIAM ALLEN MACHACEKLance Corporal · December 10, 1967
- PAUL ALAN STENDERPrivate First Class · February 2, 1968
- ROBERT EDWARD GIRSCHSergeant · April 5, 1968
- ROBERT M PRESS JRSpecialist Four · October 31, 1968
- TERENCE FRANCIS COURTNEYCaptain · May 2, 1972
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.