The Wall › Panel 16W › Minnesota › Joel Thomas Lau
JOEL THOMAS LAU
Staff Sergeant · U.S. Army
December 12, 1948 – November 1, 1969
Service recordJoel Thomas Lau, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on November 1, 1969, in Binh Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 16W, Line 13 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 16W · Line 13
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
- Staff Sergeant (SSG)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 173 AIRBORNE BDE
- Born
- December 12, 1948
- Home of record
- Minneapolis, Minnesota (Hennepin County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- November 1, 1969
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Binh Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Died of Wounds
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
28 names on the Wall carry the date November 1, 1969; four of them were lost in Bình Định Province. In November 1969, 660 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 173rd Airborne Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 28 of its members that month.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 16W, Line 13
- PHILIP JAMES ENLOWSpecialist Five · November 1, 1969
- JOHN ROBERT HAGOODFirst Lieutenant · November 1, 1969
- JIMMY KEN HARRISONSpecialist Five · November 1, 1969
- ERIC THOMAS HARSHBARGERSpecialist Four · November 1, 1969
Same unit, same day
- JOHN ROBERT HAGOODFirst Lieutenant · Panel 16W, Line 13
- SAM HENRY MANGUMSergeant · Panel 16W, Line 14
- JAMES ARTHUR ROSSSergeant First Class · Panel 16W, Line 15
From Minneapolis
- WILLIAM EDWARD SWANSONLieutenant · April 11, 1965
- MICHAEL JOHN ULICSNIPetty Officer First Class · September 8, 1964
- DENNIS LEROY PIERSONPrivate First Class · June 26, 1965
- DON GLENN KNOWLTONWarrant Officer 1 · October 20, 1965
- ROGER MICHAEL MANNIESergeant · October 28, 1965
- TRENT RICHARD POWERSCaptain · October 31, 1965
- DAVID LEONARD UGLANDSecond Lieutenant · November 8, 1965
- WILLIAM MARTIN SAVORENLance Corporal · November 25, 1965
- LAWRENCE FREDRICK RAMAKERSpecialist Four · December 10, 1965
- THOMAS NEWTON SLOANTechnical Sergeant · December 17, 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.