The Wall › Panel 23W › Iowa › Gerald Stephen Powlistha
GERALD STEPHEN POWLISTHA
Sergeant · U.S. Army
February 22, 1948 – June 5, 1969
Service recordGerald Stephen Powlistha, of Maquoketa, Iowa, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on June 5, 1969, in Gia Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 23W, Line 78 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 23W · Line 78
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
Did you know him? Family members and friends are invited to share a photograph or a memory. Nothing is posted until it has been reviewed.
Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 82 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- February 22, 1948
- Home of record
- Maquoketa, Iowa (Jackson County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- June 5, 1969
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Gia Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
60 names on the Wall carry the date June 5, 1969; he was the only one lost in Gia Dinh Province that day. In June 1969, 1,246 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 82nd Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 6 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 23W, Line 78
- CHARLES HENRY BRITTIAN JRCorporal · June 5, 1969
- MACK LEE PRESTON JRPrivate First Class · June 5, 1969
- CHARLES MARLIN RAMSEYSergeant · June 5, 1969
- ROBERT LUIS ROMEROPrivate First Class · June 5, 1969
From Maquoketa
- JERRY LEE COLLISTERPrivate First Class · February 25, 1968
- RONALD RAY SAGERSStaff Sergeant · May 22, 1970
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.