The Wall › Panel 27W › California › Michael Ernest Matta
MICHAEL ERNEST MATTA
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
July 22, 1948 – April 11, 1969
Service recordMichael Ernest Matta, of Reedley, California, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on April 11, 1969, in Pleiku Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 27W, Line 57 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 27W · Line 57
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
- General Vehicle Repairman (63C)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- July 22, 1948
- Home of record
- Reedley, California (Fresno County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 11, 1969
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Pleiku
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Vehicle Crash (MC)
Context · from the records
What was happening
39 names on the Wall carry the date April 11, 1969; three of them were lost in Pleiku Province. In April 1969, 1,023 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 4th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 29 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 27W, Line 57
- MARTIN LECHUGACorporal · April 11, 1969
- STEPHEN MIX LEWISSpecialist Four · April 11, 1969
- DALE LAVERNE MILBRADTFirst Lieutenant · April 11, 1969
- GONZALO H VILLASENORSpecialist Four · April 11, 1969
Same unit, same day
- WILLIAM JOHN BANNON JRSpecialist Four · Panel 27W, Line 54
- GUY TALMADGE FLETCHER JRPrivate First Class · Panel 27W, Line 55
From Reedley
- TONY EIDDIE GABALDONPrivate First Class · September 4, 1967
- TERRY Y OGAMICorporal · February 20, 1968
- JOHN FRANK CANDELASPrivate First Class · April 5, 1968
- JOE FRANCISCO PEREZ JRCorporal · June 25, 1968
- ROBERT ANDREW PORTEPrivate First Class · April 9, 1969
- HERMAN HENRY HUEBNERSergeant · July 5, 1969
- FRANK RODRIQUEZ CORONASergeant · May 2, 1970
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.