The Wall › Panel 41W › Michigan › Gerald Samolej
GERALD SAMOLEJ
Sergeant · U.S. Army
October 15, 1947 – October 8, 1968
Service recordGerald Samolej, of Richmond, Michigan, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on October 8, 1968, in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 41W, Line 32 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 41W · Line 32
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
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 11 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- October 15, 1947
- Home of record
- Richmond, Michigan (Macomb County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- October 8, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Quang Nam
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
27 names on the Wall carry the date October 8, 1968; six of them were lost in Quảng Nam Province. In October 1968, 821 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 11th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 34 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 41W, Line 32
- MANUEL AGUIAR SOARESLance Corporal · October 8, 1968
- LYN DWIGHT SPARRECorporal · October 8, 1968
- JOHN BRADFORD STEVENSAirman First Class · October 8, 1968
- RONALD LEE SUMMERSSergeant · October 8, 1968
Same unit, same day
- WILLIAM ANDREW BRABANTCorporal · Panel 41W, Line 28
- STEVE JOSEPH LEONE PERRYSpecialist Four · Panel 41W, Line 29
- JAMES THOMAS LONGCorporal · Panel 41W, Line 30
From Richmond
- DENNIS LEROY HARMONPrivate First Class · July 21, 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.