The Wall › Panel 45W › Michigan › James Walter Lahti
JAMES WALTER LAHTI
First Lieutenant · U.S. Army
January 23, 1948 – September 1, 1968
Service recordJames Walter Lahti, of Walled Lake, Michigan, served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He died on September 1, 1968, in Binh Long Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 45W, Line 20 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 45W · Line 20
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
- First Lieutenant (1LT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Infantry Unit Commander (1542)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 INF DIV
- Born
- January 23, 1948
- Home of record
- Walled Lake, Michigan (Oakland County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- September 1, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Binh Long
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
28 names on the Wall carry the date September 1, 1968; three of them were lost in Binh Long Province. In September 1968, 1,184 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 69 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 45W, Line 20
- JAN DWAIN JAMISONPetty Officer First Class · September 1, 1968
- WILLIAM LOUIS KINKADECaptain · September 1, 1968
- LONNIE CHARLES LAWSCorporal · September 1, 1968
- JAMES MINICK MOOREStaff Sergeant · September 1, 1968
Same unit, same day
- GWYN THAXTON HENSONPrivate First Class · Panel 45W, Line 19
- LONNIE CHARLES LAWSCorporal · Panel 45W, Line 20
- WILLIAM DOUGLAS TAYLORPrivate First Class · Panel 45W, Line 23
From Walled Lake
- RUSSELL JAMES HELIKERSpecialist Four · May 7, 1968
- ROBERT GRAHAM CURLStaff Sergeant · December 2, 1969
- GERALD ARTHUR DAVISSpecialist Four · September 2, 1971
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.