The Wall › Panel 27W › Kansas › John Joseph Schmelzle
JOHN JOSEPH SCHMELZLE
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
September 28, 1949 – April 13, 1969
Service recordJohn Joseph Schmelzle, of Edwardsville, Kansas, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on April 13, 1969, in Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 27W, Line 78 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 27W · Line 78
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
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- September 28, 1949
- Home of record
- Edwardsville, Kansas (Wyandotte County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 13, 1969
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Tay Ninh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
47 names on the Wall carry the date April 13, 1969; 21 of them were lost in Tây Ninh Province. In April 1969, 1,023 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 87 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 27W, Line 78
- JOHN HALE JRPrivate First Class · April 13, 1969
- WILFRED F SCHMIDT JRWarrant Officer 1 · April 13, 1969
- CHRISTOPHER LEIGH SENESEPrivate First Class · April 13, 1969
- NELSON OMAR VANHOUTENPrivate First Class · April 13, 1969
Same unit, same day
- LUTHER EDWARD BALL JRPrivate First Class · Panel 27W, Line 70
- RICHARD IRVING BRENNERCorporal · Panel 27W, Line 70
- IRVING S CHENOWETH IIISecond Lieutenant · Panel 27W, Line 71
- ANDERSON NEELY RENSHAW IIIFirst Lieutenant · Panel 27W, Line 71
- RONALD BRUCE FERGUSONPrivate First Class · Panel 27W, Line 73
- LARRY CHARLES MARTINSergeant · Panel 27W, Line 75
- RICHARD ALLAN BROWNEPrivate First Class · Panel 27W, Line 77
From Edwardsville
- ROBERT EUGENE THOMPSONPrivate First Class · May 4, 1966
- MICHAEL ALLEN WYRICKPrivate First Class · October 21, 1967
- ROMAN GALE MASONSergeant · January 27, 1969
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.