The Wall › Panel 50W › California › Gerald Leland Poppa
GERALD LELAND POPPA
Sergeant · U.S. Marine Corps
July 21, 1945 – August 1, 1968
Service recordGerald Leland Poppa, of Salinas, California, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on August 1, 1968, in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam, at age 23. His name is inscribed on Panel 50W, Line 45 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 50W · Line 45
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
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Radio Telegraph Operator (2533)
- Born
- July 21, 1945
- Home of record
- Salinas, California (Monterey County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- August 1, 1968
- Age
- 23
- Province
- Quang Nam
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
34 names on the Wall carry the date August 1, 1968; nine of them were lost in Quảng Nam Province. In August 1968, 1,313 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
Also on Panel 50W, Line 45
- WILLIAM DELBERT PEARSONCorporal · August 1, 1968
- JOSEPH SHAW ROSSCaptain · August 1, 1968
- PETER JOHN RUSSELLCaptain · August 1, 1968
- SCOTT GARY SMITHPrivate First Class · August 1, 1968
From Salinas
- JOE CARROL ROBERTSONCaptain · June 18, 1965
- ALTON EUGENE BAKERPrivate First Class · November 1, 1965
- DARELL GOODWIN FREEMANPrivate First Class · November 22, 1965
- ERNEST FELIPE LOSOYALance Corporal · December 19, 1965
- ROBERT LESTER MILLERLieutenant · March 7, 1967
- DANNY JOE KEITHCorporal · June 2, 1967
- DAVID CHISUMPrivate First Class · August 16, 1968
- RICKY LYNN CORNELLSpecialist Four · November 14, 1968
- JAMES CLARK CARLSONPrivate First Class · November 23, 1968
- EUGENE MERLE CHRISTERCorporal · December 15, 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.