The Wall › Panel 20W › Texas › Michael Paul Burns
MICHAEL PAUL BURNS
Sergeant First Class · U.S. Army
April 25, 1947 – July 31, 1969
Service recordMichael Paul Burns, of El Paso, Texas, served as a Sergeant First Class in the U.S. Army. He was lost on July 31, 1969, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 20W, Line 79 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 20W · Line 79
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 First Class (SFC)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- SPECIAL FORCES
- Born
- April 25, 1947
- Home of record
- El Paso, Texas (El Paso County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- July 31, 1969
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Unknown
- First reported
- Missing in action
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
16 names on the Wall carry the date July 31, 1969. In July 1969, 834 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
Special Forces, his unit in the record, lost 15 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 20W, Line 79
- RICHARD LEE WINDSHEIMERCorporal · July 30, 1969
- JOHN KEMPE WINSLOWSergeant · July 30, 1969
- RONALD JOSEPH BATESCorporal · July 31, 1969
- CONN KAY CLARKSergeant · July 31, 1969
- MICHAEL ALLEN DWYERCorporal · July 31, 1969
Same unit, same day
- DENNIS PAUL NEALMajor · Panel 20W, Line 81
From El Paso
- ROBERTO SAMANIEGOCaptain · June 19, 1965
- ROBERT ALLAN EIBERCaptain · June 25, 1965
- MARCOS HERNANDEZSergeant · October 30, 1965
- JOHN FREDERICK MCDERMOTTSpecialist Four · November 18, 1965
- ROBERTO ITUARTESergeant · December 11, 1965
- CHARLES ALAN ROBERTSCaptain · December 26, 1965
- WALLACE KINGSLEY SINERCaptain · January 5, 1966
- WENDELL RAY WHEATLance Corporal · February 8, 1966
- HAROLD PAUL KINDLEBERGERFirst Lieutenant · May 11, 1966
- PEDRO MUNOZHospitalman · May 12, 1966
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.