The Wall › Panel 24W › North Dakota › Merlin James Laber
MERLIN JAMES LABER
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
September 5, 1947 – May 14, 1969
Service recordMerlin James Laber, of Sykeston, North Dakota, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on May 14, 1969, in Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 24W, Line 8 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 24W · Line 8
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
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 198 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- September 5, 1947
- Home of record
- Sykeston, North Dakota (Wells County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 14, 1969
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Quang Tin
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
69 names on the Wall carry the date May 14, 1969; 24 of them were lost in Quảng Tín Province. In May 1969, 1,456 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 198th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 75 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 24W, Line 8
- ROBERT FRANCIS LAUBACHERCorporal · May 14, 1969
- JAMES ALLEN LEEPrivate First Class · May 14, 1969
- MICHAEL DENNIS MELTONSpecialist Four · May 14, 1969
- MICHAEL WAYNE MILNERCorporal · May 14, 1969
Same unit, same day
- JOE EDDY BRAGGSpecialist Four · Panel 24W, Line 1
- TYREE CARDWELLSpecialist Four · Panel 24W, Line 1
- FREDDIE LEE COFFMANPrivate First Class · Panel 24W, Line 3
- DANIEL ELMER ROSENCorporal · Panel 24W, Line 3
- GILES WILSON GILMERSpecialist Four · Panel 24W, Line 5
- WILLIAM ROBERT HALECorporal · Panel 24W, Line 6
- PHILLIP HERNANDEZSpecialist Four · Panel 24W, Line 6
- ROBERT FRANCIS LAUBACHERCorporal · Panel 24W, Line 8
- MICHAEL DENNIS MELTONSpecialist Four · Panel 24W, Line 8
- STEVEN GENE PETTISSpecialist Four · Panel 24W, Line 10
- GARY REID CLODFELTERSpecialist Four · Panel 24W, Line 11
- DONALD WAYNE PRIEST JRSpecialist Four · Panel 24W, Line 11
- WINSTON OSBORNE SMITHPrivate First Class · Panel 24W, Line 12
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.