The Wall › Panel 5W › Louisiana › Michael Harris Petty
MICHAEL HARRIS PETTY
Sergeant · U.S. Army
September 27, 1949 – January 22, 1971
Service recordMichael Harris Petty, of Des Allemands, Louisiana, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on January 22, 1971, in Bien Hoa Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 5W, Line 61 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 5W · Line 61
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
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Aircraft Maintenance Apprentice (67A)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 25 INF DIV
- Born
- September 27, 1949
- Home of record
- Des Allemands, Louisiana
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 22, 1971
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Bien Hoa
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — Passenger (MC)
Context · from the records
What was happening
11 names on the Wall carry the date January 22, 1971; seven of them were lost in Bien Hoa Province. In January 1971, 259 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 25th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 13 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 5W, Line 61
- HUGH DANIEL OPPERMANSergeant · January 22, 1971
- GREGORY LEE PEFFERSergeant · January 22, 1971
- DENNIS ROBERT SCHOSSOWSergeant · January 22, 1971
- WILLIAM HERMAN SEABORN JRWarrant Officer 1 · January 22, 1971
Same unit, same day
- ROG JOHNSONChief Warrant Officer 2 · Panel 5W, Line 60
- FREDERICK ANTHONY VIGILSergeant · Panel 5W, Line 62
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.