The Wall › Panel 4W › Texas › Melvin Ray Cleaveland
MELVIN RAY CLEAVELAND
Private First Class · U.S. Army
July 6, 1951 – March 13, 1971
Service recordMelvin Ray Cleaveland, of San Leon, Texas, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on March 13, 1971, in Quang Ngai Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 4W, Line 43 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 4W · Line 43
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)
- 198 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- July 6, 1951
- Home of record
- San Leon, Texas (Galveston County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 13, 1971
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Quang Ngai
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
Ten names on the Wall carry the date March 13, 1971; he was the only one lost in Quảng Ngãi Province that day. In March 1971, 429 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 198th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 12 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 4W, Line 43
- GERALD WELSCHStaff Sergeant · March 12, 1971
- EUGENE ALLENPrivate First Class · March 13, 1971
- BARTON SHELDON CREEDLieutenant Commander · March 13, 1971
- NEAL STEVEN CROWDERSergeant · March 13, 1971
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.