The Wall › Panel 26W › Indiana › John Francis Koehler
JOHN FRANCIS KOEHLER
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
February 15, 1950 – April 23, 1969
Service recordJohn Francis Koehler, of Indianapolis, Indiana, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on April 23, 1969, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 26W, Line 32 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 26W · Line 32
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
- Specialist Four (SP4)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Heavy Anti-Armor Weapons Infantryman (11H)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- February 15, 1950
- Home of record
- Indianapolis, Indiana (Marion County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 23, 1969
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — Passenger (MC)
Context · from the records
What was happening
42 names on the Wall carry the date April 23, 1969; eight of them were lost in Thừa Thiên Province. In April 1969, 1,023 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 83 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 26W, Line 32
- WILLIAM ELLIS BROWNINGPrivate First Class · August 1, 1968
- TROY DAVID FAULKNERSpecialist Five · April 23, 1969
- MELVIN JOHN FREISEPrivate First Class · April 23, 1969
- OLLIE JAMES GROSSPetty Officer First Class · April 23, 1969
- JAMES PHILLIP HEIMSpecialist Four · April 23, 1969
Same unit, same day
- OTTO PHILIP BARNHARTSergeant · Panel 26W, Line 29
- HENRY WATERS CARDWELLSergeant · Panel 26W, Line 30
- JULIAN DEAN DEDMANStaff Sergeant · Panel 26W, Line 31
- JAMES PHILLIP HEIMSpecialist Four · Panel 26W, Line 32
- GARY PRESTON NEIMANSpecialist Four · Panel 26W, Line 34
- WILLIAM FRANK ROCCOSergeant First Class · Panel 26W, Line 35
- JOHN WERNER TIDERENCELSpecialist Four · Panel 26W, Line 36
From Indianapolis
- JAMES EDWARD CAUGHEYSpecialist Four · August 14, 1964
- CLARENCE LEROY COLEMANSpecialist Five · February 10, 1965
- IVAN RAY SMITHPrivate First Class · May 13, 1965
- KENNETH LEROY REEDStaff Sergeant · June 12, 1965
- JOHN POWERS DAVISSpecialist Five · July 21, 1965
- CURLEY SHERELS JRCorporal · August 18, 1965
- ALVIN CARVER FORNEYCorporal · September 1, 1965
- WILLIAM LARRIE HUNTPrivate First Class · November 6, 1965
- THOMAS CURTIS METSKERCaptain · November 14, 1965
- VILIS LISMENTSCorporal · November 22, 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.