The Wall › Panel 15W › Michigan › Michael Joseph Drake
MICHAEL JOSEPH DRAKE
Warrant Officer 1 · U.S. Army
May 15, 1948 – December 16, 1969
Service recordMichael Joseph Drake, of Royal Oak, Michigan, served as a Warrant Officer 1 in the U.S. Army. He died on December 16, 1969, in Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 15W, Line 62 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 15W · Line 62
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
- Warrant Officer 1 (WO1)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Utility/Observation Helicopter Pilot (100B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 25 INF DIV
- Born
- May 15, 1948
- Home of record
- Royal Oak, Michigan (Oakland County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- December 16, 1969
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Tay Ninh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
24 names on the Wall carry the date December 16, 1969; four of them were lost in Tây Ninh Province. In December 1969, 509 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 25th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 52 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 15W, Line 62
- DANIEL CARL CAPITANIPrivate First Class · December 16, 1969
- JOHN W CREWS JRSergeant · December 16, 1969
- THOMAS EDWARD DEVINECorporal · December 16, 1969
- JOSEPH NORMAN EVELANDSpecialist Four · December 16, 1969
Same unit, same day
- DANIEL CARL CAPITANIPrivate First Class · Panel 15W, Line 62
- JOHN W CREWS JRSergeant · Panel 15W, Line 62
- THOMAS EDWARD DEVINECorporal · Panel 15W, Line 62
- JOSEPH NORMAN EVELANDSpecialist Four · Panel 15W, Line 62
- FRANCIS MICHAEL GIRARDOTCaptain · Panel 15W, Line 63
- LEONARD JAMES SUGIMOTOWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 15W, Line 65
From Royal Oak
- JOHN CHRISTOPHER KNAGGSCaptain · October 29, 1964
- ROBERT EDWARDS RAWLSCaptain · September 18, 1965
- MARTIN JOHN MASSUCCIMajor · October 1, 1965
- ROBERT FRANKLIN TOWNSENDSergeant First Class · November 4, 1965
- JARMO ANTERO KARIPrivate First Class · February 9, 1966
- RONALD LOUIS POWELLLance Corporal · August 24, 1965
- DONALD ALLEN SMITH JRPrivate First Class · October 4, 1966
- THOMAS EDDY BIRDSALLLance Corporal · November 12, 1966
- LARRY DAVID ROSSPrivate First Class · February 18, 1967
- DAVID FRANKLIN VANDERCOOKPrivate First Class · February 25, 1967
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.