The Wall › Panel 11W › Louisiana › Michael Banard Varnado
MICHAEL BANARD VARNADO
Chief Warrant Officer 2 · U.S. Army
September 10, 1948 – May 2, 1970
Service recordMichael Banard Varnado, of Ferriday, Louisiana, served as a Chief Warrant Officer 2 in the U.S. Army. He was lost on May 2, 1970, in Cambodia, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 11W, Line 89 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 11W · Line 89
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
- Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Utility/Observation Helicopter Pilot (100B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- September 10, 1948
- Home of record
- Ferriday, Louisiana
Casualty
- Date of loss
- May 2, 1970
- Country
- Cambodia
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
- First reported
- Captured / prisoner of war
Context · from the records
What was happening
36 names on the Wall carry the date May 2, 1970. In May 1970, 917 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 127 of its members that month.
He died in Cambodia while the Cambodian incursion was under way. From 29 April to 30 June 1970, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces crossed into Cambodia to attack North Vietnamese base areas and supply caches; the announcement set off campus protests, including at Kent State.
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 11W, Line 89
- RAYMOND NOVELL TAYLORSpecialist Four · May 2, 1970
- DONALD LEE VOORHEESSergeant First Class · May 2, 1970
- ROBERT MILTON YOUNGCaptain · May 2, 1970
- WILLIE BEDFORDPrivate · May 3, 1970
Same unit, same day
- ROBERT ALMASYSergeant · Panel 11W, Line 82
- RICHARD DENNIS BREWERFirst Lieutenant · Panel 11W, Line 83
- FRANK RODRIQUEZ CORONASergeant · Panel 11W, Line 83
- KENNETH LEROY DEFENBAUGHCorporal · Panel 11W, Line 85
- GEORGE DALE SLYEStaff Sergeant · Panel 11W, Line 88
From Ferriday
- FREDDIE LEE ALLENPrivate First Class · June 29, 1967
- JAMES LEE RATLIFFStaff Sergeant · August 6, 1968
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.