The Wall › Panel 50E › California › Mel Roy Ballard
MEL ROY BALLARD
Sergeant · U.S. Army
December 19, 1944 – April 18, 1968
Service recordMel Roy Ballard, of Redding, California, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on April 18, 1968, in Bien Hoa Province, South Vietnam, at age 23. His name is inscribed on Panel 50E, Line 36 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 50E · 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)
- 199 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- December 19, 1944
- Home of record
- Redding, California (Shasta County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 18, 1968
- Age
- 23
- Province
- Bien Hoa
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
40 names on the Wall carry the date April 18, 1968; ten of them were lost in Bien Hoa Province. In April 1968, 1,580 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 199th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 35 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 50E, Line 36
- RONALD MICHAEL VIVONACorporal · April 6, 1968
- GEORGE GAYRAL ADAMSSpecialist Four · April 18, 1968
- PAUL EDWIN ADAMSSpecialist Four · April 18, 1968
- JERRY LEE BOYLESSpecialist Four · April 18, 1968
- ROBERT JAY HESSPrivate First Class · April 18, 1968
Same unit, same day
- PAUL EDWIN ADAMSSpecialist Four · Panel 50E, Line 36
- JERRY LEE BOYLESSpecialist Four · Panel 50E, Line 36
- THOMAS EDWARD CARNEGIEFirst Lieutenant · Panel 50E, Line 37
- SAMUEL PAIGE COWAN JRSpecialist Four · Panel 50E, Line 37
- DAVID WALTER DORRISPrivate First Class · Panel 50E, Line 37
- CECIL LAVON RENDERSpecialist Four · Panel 50E, Line 40
- ROBERT KITTRIDGE VARICKSpecialist Four · Panel 50E, Line 42
- ERNEST VETTER JRPrivate First Class · Panel 50E, Line 43
From Redding
- RANDELL FRANK SHANNONSpecialist Four · September 28, 1966
- CURTIS DARRELL JACKSONPetty Officer Third Class · June 27, 1967
- DALE CHRISTOPHER PEHRSONCorporal · November 30, 1967
- BARRY N GRIGSBYPrivate First Class · February 16, 1968
- RAYMOND CALVIN GUESTCorporal · March 15, 1968
- JAMES ROBERT RETZLOFF JRConstructionman · March 31, 1968
- JEFFREY EARL LAMBERTCorporal · April 17, 1968
- THOMAS WILLIAM CRANFORDPrivate First Class · May 9, 1968
- JAMES EDWARD BATESPrivate First Class · May 25, 1968
- MICHAEL JAMES GWINNSpecialist Four · July 20, 1968
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.