The Wall › Panel 16W › Michigan › Kenneth James Smolarek
KENNETH JAMES SMOLAREK
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
August 3, 1950 – November 27, 1969
Service recordKenneth James Smolarek, of Detroit, Michigan, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on November 27, 1969, in Pleiku Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 16W, Line 128 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 16W · Line 128
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)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- August 3, 1950
- Home of record
- Detroit, Michigan (Wayne County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- November 27, 1969
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Pleiku
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
13 names on the Wall carry the date November 27, 1969; three of them were lost in Pleiku Province. In November 1969, 660 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 4th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 54 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 16W, Line 128
- LARRY ALLEN BROWNSergeant · November 27, 1969
- JOHNNY CARL JONESSpecialist Four · November 27, 1969
- WYLIE CLARENCE KINGCorporal · November 27, 1969
- JOHN MICHAEL SMITHCorporal · November 27, 1969
Same unit, same day
- ROBERT JOHN SILVAPrivate First Class · Panel 16W, Line 127
From Detroit
- SAMUEL EUGENE HURDAirman Third Class · January 3, 1964
- LEO BERT ABRAMOSKICaptain · July 28, 1964
- GEORGE PAUL ZUPANCICCorporal · June 26, 1965
- MARSHALL DANIEL HOLMANPrivate First Class · July 9, 1965
- ELIAS BELL JRCorporal · July 13, 1965
- ARTHUR F HAMMARSTROM JRLieutenant Colonel · July 24, 1965
- JAMES THOMAS CLARKPrivate · August 17, 1965
- BRUCE JAMES HENRICHPrivate First Class · August 18, 1965
- ROBERT TAGLIONESergeant · August 18, 1965
- MERRILL LAGENE LANTRYCorporal · September 2, 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.