The Wall › Panel 34W › Michigan › John Nelson Cottrell
JOHN NELSON COTTRELL
Sergeant · U.S. Army
September 16, 1945 – January 19, 1969
Service recordJohn Nelson Cottrell, of Vanderbilt, Michigan, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on January 19, 1969, in Pleiku Province, South Vietnam, at age 23. His name is inscribed on Panel 34W, Line 36 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 34W · Line 36
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
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- September 16, 1945
- Home of record
- Vanderbilt, Michigan (Otsego County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 19, 1969
- Age
- 23
- Province
- Pleiku
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
Context · from the records
What was happening
28 names on the Wall carry the date January 19, 1969; he was the only one lost in Pleiku Province that day. In January 1969, 985 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 4th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 43 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 34W, Line 36
- DAVID LESLIE BELLERIVECorporal · January 19, 1969
- RICHARD ARNOLD CARLSONPrivate First Class · January 19, 1969
- MICHAEL LEWIS DORNPrivate First Class · January 19, 1969
- DAVID CHARLES HALLPetty Officer Third Class · January 19, 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.