The Wall › Panel 36E › Alabama › Melvin Joe Williams
MELVIN JOE WILLIAMS
Private First Class · U.S. Army
November 11, 1947 – January 31, 1968
Service recordMelvin Joe Williams, of Birmingham, Alabama, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on January 31, 1968, in Binh Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 36E, Line 42 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 36E · Line 42
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
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- November 11, 1947
- Home of record
- Birmingham, Alabama (Jefferson County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 31, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Binh Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
246 names on the Wall carry the date January 31, 1968; seven of them were lost in Bình Định Province. In January 1968, 1,546 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 110 of its members that month.
He died in Bình Định Province while the Tet Offensive was under way. Beginning on the night of 30–31 January 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces attacked more than 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. February 1968 was the deadliest month of the war for Americans.
Also on Panel 36E, Line 42
- LUCION PERRY WELLSSpecialist Four · January 31, 1968
- ROBERT LEE WHITLEYLance Corporal · January 31, 1968
- VERNON CHARLES WILDERSPINSpecialist Four · January 31, 1968
- TERRY JOE WILLIAMSSpecialist Four · January 31, 1968
Same unit, same day
- ARCHIE BURNETTE JRStaff Sergeant · Panel 35E, Line 89
- HAROLD EDWARD CASHMAN JRSpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 2
- WYATT CECIL GORDONSergeant · Panel 36E, Line 4
- GARY W HANNAWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 36E, Line 12
- LLOYD ALLEN HIMESSergeant Major · Panel 36E, Line 15
- RICHARD FALCON DELGADOSpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 21
- WILLIAM ROBERT LEEWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 36E, Line 21
- DAVID LLOYD PARKERSpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 29
- DAMON LIGOURI RITCHIECorporal · Panel 36E, Line 32
- DAVID OWEN ROBERTSSpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 33
- CLIFTON DOUGLAS ROYCorporal · Panel 36E, Line 33
- DAVID LEE TURNERCorporal · Panel 36E, Line 40
From Birmingham
- SHERMAN ELLIOT WILLIAMSSpecialist Five · July 9, 1965
- CARL WILLIAM MANNPrivate First Class · September 21, 1965
- ROBERT WARREN ALLENPrivate First Class · October 3, 1965
- GENE WILLIAM WILLIAMSSpecialist Five · October 12, 1965
- JAMES J HOWARDSpecialist Five · November 1, 1965
- CLEO LOCKETTCorporal · November 8, 1965
- HAROLD JAMES BATTLEPrivate First Class · November 12, 1965
- HAROLD EUGENE WATKINSLance Corporal · November 12, 1965
- CHARLES WILLIAM STOREYStaff Sergeant · November 17, 1965
- RICHARD EARL HARPERSpecialist Four · January 12, 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.