The Wall › Panel 27W › Texas › Joseph Dudley Melonson JR
JOSEPH DUDLEY MELONSON JR
First Lieutenant · U.S. Army
December 31, 1944 – April 13, 1969
Service recordJoseph Dudley Melonson JR, of Beaumont, Texas, served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He died on April 13, 1969, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 24. His name is inscribed on Panel 27W, Line 76 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 27W · Line 76
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
- First Lieutenant (1LT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Infantry Unit Commander (1542)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- December 31, 1944
- Home of record
- Beaumont, Texas (Jefferson County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 13, 1969
- Age
- 24
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
47 names on the Wall carry the date April 13, 1969; five 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 27W, Line 76
- RALPH DAVID MCMURTRYSpecialist Four · April 13, 1969
- FRANCIS JOHN MELLAR JRSpecialist Five · April 13, 1969
- DAVID THOMAS NELSONLance Corporal · April 13, 1969
- JOSEPH ANTHONY ORETOSergeant · April 13, 1969
Same unit, same day
- ALVIE JUNIOR LEDFORD JRCaptain · Panel 27W, Line 75
- RALPH DAVID MCMURTRYSpecialist Four · Panel 27W, Line 76
- WILLIAM C PIERSON IIIChief Warrant Officer 3 · Panel 27W, Line 77
- JOHN HALE JRPrivate First Class · Panel 27W, Line 78
- NELSON OMAR VANHOUTENPrivate First Class · Panel 27W, Line 78
- LOUIS JOSEPH WEHRHEIMSpecialist Four · Panel 27W, Line 79
From Beaumont
- JAMES LOUIS ALLENPrivate First Class · November 6, 1965
- ROBERT LOUIS HOPKINSSpecialist Five · February 6, 1966
- WARREN SHELBY MCELHANONPrivate First Class · March 9, 1966
- JOHN HENRY EAGLINSergeant · April 11, 1966
- DENNIS LEE REEVESSergeant · April 14, 1966
- FREDERIC WILLIAM FRITTSSpecialist Four · June 29, 1966
- BRENT IKE GRIGGSPrivate First Class · July 20, 1966
- CLAUDE BENJAMIN RUSH JRStaff Sergeant · December 29, 1966
- CLAIR LEONARD RAY SAINTCorporal · February 26, 1967
- LARRY WAYNE WILKERSONPrivate First Class · April 20, 1967
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.