The Wall › Panel 4W › Georgia › Michael Eli King
MICHAEL ELI KING
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
August 3, 1949 – March 5, 1971
Service recordMichael Eli King, of Calhoun, Georgia, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on March 5, 1971, in Laos, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 4W, Line 24 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 4W · Line 24
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)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- August 3, 1949
- Home of record
- Calhoun, Georgia (Gordon County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 5, 1971
- Age
- 21
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
Context · from the records
What was happening
17 names on the Wall carry the date March 5, 1971. In March 1971, 429 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 77 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while Operation Lam Son 719 was under way. In Lam Son 719 (February–March 1971), South Vietnamese troops drove into Laos to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail, carried and supported by U.S. helicopters and aircraft; more than 100 U.S. helicopters were lost.
Also on Panel 4W, Line 24
- FRANKIE GUY BAKERPrivate · March 5, 1971
- WILLIAM LOUIS HASHAGENCorporal · March 5, 1971
- JOEL CLINTON HATLEYSpecialist Four · March 5, 1971
- LARRY PATRICK JOHNSONSpecialist Four · March 5, 1971
Same unit, same day
- STEVEN RALPH BURCHWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 4W, Line 23
- GILBERT DOWELLPrivate First Class · Panel 4W, Line 23
- JOEL CLINTON HATLEYSpecialist Four · Panel 4W, Line 24
- LARRY DAVID LODENCorporal · Panel 4W, Line 25
- RALPH ANGELO MOREIRA JRWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 4W, Line 25
- DAVID LINDFORD NELSONCaptain · Panel 4W, Line 25
From Calhoun
- BILLY LAMAR GODFREYSpecialist Four · December 14, 1967
- CHARLES DUANE BENNETTCorporal · July 7, 1968
- LONNIE HUGHLEN HARRISONPrivate First Class · June 10, 1969
- JAMES GRADY CONLEYSergeant First Class · November 7, 1971
- LARRY JOHN YOUNGPetty Officer First Class · July 20, 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.