The Wall › Panel 2W › Illinois › Melvin Roscoe Gleaton
MELVIN ROSCOE GLEATON
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
December 21, 1952 – March 30, 1972
Service recordMelvin Roscoe Gleaton, of Chicago, Illinois, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on March 30, 1972, in Bien Hoa Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 2W, Line 125 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 2W · Line 125
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
- Aircraft Maintenance Apprentice (67A)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- December 21, 1952
- Home of record
- Chicago, Illinois (Cook County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 30, 1972
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Bien Hoa
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — Passenger (MC)
Context · from the records
What was happening
Five names on the Wall carry the date March 30, 1972; he was the only one lost in Bien Hoa Province that day. In March 1972, 69 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Aviation Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 6 of its members that month.
He died in Bien Hoa Province while the Easter Offensive was under way. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched its largest offensive since 1968, attacking across the DMZ, toward An Lộc and into the Central Highlands. By then few U.S. ground troops remained; American advisers and air power fought alongside the South Vietnamese.
Also on Panel 2W, Line 125
- BRUCE ALLEN CROSBY JRSergeant · March 30, 1972
- MELVIN WAYNE FINCHCaptain · March 30, 1972
- GARY PATRICK WESTCOTTSpecialist Five · March 30, 1972
- CHARLES WAYNE BUNTIONSpecialist Four · March 31, 1972
From Chicago
- MELVIN LESTER WATERSPrivate · February 10, 1965
- WILLIAM RALPH FUHRMANPetty Officer Third Class · April 23, 1965
- RAYMOND LEON HORNCorporal · May 1, 1965
- ARTHUR C JEPSON JRCaptain · May 16, 1965
- DONALD CLAY DEDMONStaff Sergeant · June 10, 1965
- ROGER PELIKANLance Corporal · July 17, 1965
- HARRY COHENTechnical Sergeant · July 19, 1969
- CURTIS LOCKHARTPrivate First Class · July 30, 1965
- EDWARD KOPECPrivate First Class · August 18, 1965
- JAMES LEO WHITELance Corporal · August 19, 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.