The Wall › Panel 2W › Virginia › Melvin Wayne Finch
MELVIN WAYNE FINCH
Captain · U.S. Army
November 10, 1944 – March 30, 1972
Service recordMelvin Wayne Finch, of Ft Belvoir, Virginia, served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. He was lost on March 30, 1972, in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, and was later declared dead. 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
- Captain (CPT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Unit (as recorded)
- B TRP 7 SQD 17 CAV 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- November 10, 1944
- Home of record
- Ft Belvoir, Virginia (Fairfax County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- March 30, 1972
- Province
- Kontum
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
- First reported
- Captured / prisoner of war
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 Kon Tum Province that day. In March 1972, 69 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Kon Tum 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.
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
On the Wall
Also on Panel 2W, Line 125
- BRUCE ALLEN CROSBY JRSergeant · March 30, 1972
- MELVIN ROSCOE GLEATONSpecialist Four · March 30, 1972
- GARY PATRICK WESTCOTTSpecialist Five · March 30, 1972
- CHARLES WAYNE BUNTIONSpecialist Four · March 31, 1972
From Ft Belvoir
- FRANK WARREN CROSSChief Warrant Officer 3 · September 15, 1968
- ROLAND HAROLD NADEAUPrivate First Class · August 2, 1969
- FRED VINCENT COLELieutenant Colonel · May 12, 1970
- JOHN WADSWORT CONSOLVO JRCaptain · May 7, 1972
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.