The Wall › Panel 26E › Kentucky › Martin William Prather
MARTIN WILLIAM PRATHER
Lance Corporal · U.S. Marine Corps
June 9, 1947 – September 5, 1967
Service recordMartin William Prather, of Louisville, Kentucky, served as a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on September 5, 1967, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 26E, Line 3 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 26E · Line 3
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
Did you know him? Family members and friends are invited to share a photograph or a memory. Nothing is posted until it has been reviewed.
Service
- Branch
- U.S. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Lance Corporal (LCPL)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Rifleman (0311)
- Unit (as recorded)
- D CO 3 RECON BN 3 MARDIV
- Born
- June 9, 1947
- Home of record
- Louisville, Kentucky (Jefferson County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- September 5, 1967
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Quang Tri
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
33 names on the Wall carry the date September 5, 1967; he was the only one lost in Quảng Trị Province that day. In September 1967, 929 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “D CO 3 RECON BN 3 MARDIV”, his unit in the record, lost 2 of its members that month.
He died in Quảng Trị Province while the siege of Con Thien was under way. Through September and October 1967, North Vietnamese artillery across the Demilitarized Zone pounded the Marine outpost at Con Thien and the bases along the DMZ in Quảng Trị Province. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
Also on Panel 26E, Line 3
- EDWIN PAUL PRENTICESpecialist Four · September 5, 1967
- PAUL DARWIN RAYMONDCaptain · September 5, 1967
- GEORGE RAY ROLANDSergeant · September 5, 1967
- THOMAS EDISON RUSSPrivate First Class · September 5, 1967
From Louisville
- FERGUS COLEMAN GROVES IICaptain · February 2, 1962
- ROBERT SHERMAN MOSIERSpecialist Five · February 10, 1965
- DON IRA WILLIAMSONColonel · October 24, 1964
- DONALD GORDON RADCLIFFMajor · August 18, 1965
- LEE ROY JAMESGunnery Sergeant · September 5, 1965
- JERRY DWAYNE UNDERWOODPrivate First Class · September 18, 1965
- GARY LOUIS DOWELLCorporal · October 27, 1965
- THOMAS EDWARD THAYER JRSergeant Major · November 8, 1965
- BOBBY LEE FAVORSSergeant · February 4, 1966
- KENNETH RUSHPrivate First Class · February 7, 1966
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.