The Wall › Panel 20W › Ohio › Harmon Polster
HARMON POLSTER
Captain · U.S. Air Force
November 14, 1943 – July 15, 1969
Service recordHarmon Polster, of Cleveland, Ohio, served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on July 15, 1969, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 20W, Line 2 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 20W · Line 2
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. Air Force
- Rank
- Captain (CAPT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Weapon Systems Officer (1551C)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 37 TFW
- Born
- November 14, 1943
- Home of record
- Cleveland, Ohio (Cuyahoga County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- July 15, 1969
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
34 names on the Wall carry the date July 15, 1969. In July 1969, 834 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “37 TFW”, his unit in the record, lost 2 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 20W, Line 2
- CHARLES DAVID ORSUAAirman First Class · July 15, 1969
- HENRY R REYESSergeant · July 15, 1969
- HARVEY F ROUNTREE JRPrivate First Class · July 15, 1969
- WILLIAM DALE SMALLPrivate First Class · July 15, 1969
Same unit, same day
- MICHAEL STEPHEN WALKERCaptain · Panel 20W, Line 4
From Cleveland
- HAROLD E STRONG JRSergeant First Class · January 23, 1965
- KENNETH LEE DEAN JRCaptain · April 20, 1965
- BOBBY RUSSELLSergeant First Class · June 10, 1965
- THOMAS H BOTTSSergeant First Class · September 4, 1965
- LEONARD JOHN DADANTEFirst Lieutenant · September 9, 1965
- JOHN PAUL DUCHNOWSKILance Corporal · November 5, 1965
- LAVALLE ERNEST CARLTONPrivate First Class · November 8, 1965
- DONALD ROBERT CLARKCaptain · November 9, 1965
- DAVID LOUIS MENDOZASpecialist Four · November 17, 1965
- RICHARD KILLENSSpecialist Four · December 5, 1965
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.