The Wall › Panel 57W › Pennsylvania › Michael John Kaplafka
MICHAEL JOHN KAPLAFKA
Sergeant · U.S. Army
November 6, 1947 – June 12, 1968
Service recordMichael John Kaplafka, of Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on June 12, 1968, in Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 57W, Line 1 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 57W · Line 1
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
- Regular
- Occupation
- Field Artillery Basic (13A)
- Unit (as recorded)
- SVC BTRY 2 BN 32 ARTY
- Born
- November 6, 1947
- Home of record
- Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania (Schuylkill County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- June 12, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Tay Ninh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
37 names on the Wall carry the date June 12, 1968; five of them were lost in Tây Ninh Province. In June 1968, 1,257 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
Also on Panel 57W, Line 1
- HAVART EARL JOHNSONPrivate First Class · June 12, 1968
- CARLOS LARUE KNIGHTSergeant · June 12, 1968
- JAMES LOYD LAWRENCE JRCorporal · June 12, 1968
- STANLEY E SPANGLER JRCorporal · June 12, 1968
From Mahanoy City
- DONALD JOSEPH SEAMANTechnical Sergeant · May 16, 1965
- PAUL JOSEPH MITCHELLCorporal · February 23, 1969
- THOMAS PATRICK MCKERNSPrivate First Class · August 28, 1969
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.