The Wall › Panel 47W › California › Joel Mitchell Laroche
JOEL MITCHELL LAROCHE
Private First Class · U.S. Army
February 9, 1947 – August 23, 1968
Service recordJoel Mitchell Laroche, of Huntington Beach, California, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on August 23, 1968, in Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 47W, Line 47 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 47W · Line 47
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
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 198 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- February 9, 1947
- Home of record
- Huntington Beach, California (Orange County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- August 23, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Quang Tin
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
111 names on the Wall carry the date August 23, 1968; eight of them were lost in Quảng Tín Province. In August 1968, 1,313 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 198th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 21 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 47W, Line 47
- GEORGE ARTHUR KYRICOSLance Corporal · August 23, 1968
- RAYMOND LOUIS LAGROU JRPrivate First Class · August 23, 1968
- WILLIE JAMES LAMARSpecialist Four · August 23, 1968
- LOREN ELWOOD LONGSpecialist Five · August 23, 1968
Same unit, same day
- RONALD LEE CALENTINECorporal · Panel 47W, Line 39
- JOHN LEO DIEDERICHSergeant · Panel 47W, Line 40
- WILBURN CHASTAIN GIDEONCaptain · Panel 47W, Line 42
- EUGENE JOHN HILL JRPrivate First Class · Panel 47W, Line 44
- ROGER RALPH MOLLSpecialist Four · Panel 47W, Line 49
- ROBERT WAYNE SALTERSergeant · Panel 47W, Line 54
- DANIEL GEORGE SCHWANCorporal · Panel 47W, Line 54
- STEVEN CHARLES VINTERPrivate First Class · Panel 47W, Line 56
From Huntington Beach
- TERRY LEE QUINNPrivate First Class · March 21, 1966
- MICHAEL D WALLACEPrivate First Class · August 13, 1966
- RAY EUGENE BRADLEYWarrant Officer 1 · February 16, 1967
- MIKE ARMENDAREZPrivate First Class · March 11, 1967
- GEORGE TALLMANSergeant · April 9, 1967
- ROGER VERNON INSCORECorporal · May 26, 1967
- WILLIAM VAZQUEZSpecialist Four · March 9, 1968
- TERRY LEE TEBBETTSPrivate First Class · April 26, 1968
- JOSEPH FRANCIS CATT JRSpecialist Four · May 9, 1968
- LELAND PATRICK FINLEYSpecialist Four · May 10, 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.