The Wall › Panel 6E › California › Michael Richard Zerbe
MICHAEL RICHARD ZERBE
Lieutenant (junior grade) · U.S. Navy
December 11, 1941 – April 15, 1966
Service recordMichael Richard Zerbe, of Julian, California, served as a Lieutenant (junior grade) in the U.S. Navy. He died on April 15, 1966, in North Vietnam, at age 24. His name is inscribed on Panel 6E, Line 115 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 6E · Line 115
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
Did you know him? Family members and friends are invited to share a photograph or a memory. Nothing is posted until it has been reviewed.
Service
- Branch
- U.S. Navy
- Rank
- Lieutenant (junior grade) (LTJG)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Url Pilot (1315)
- Unit (as recorded)
- USS KITTY HAWK CVA 63
- Born
- December 11, 1941
- Home of record
- Julian, California (San Diego County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 15, 1966
- Age
- 24
- Country
- North Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
Nine names on the Wall carry the date April 15, 1966. In April 1966, 406 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in North Vietnam while Operation Rolling Thunder was under way. Operation Rolling Thunder (March 1965–November 1968) was the sustained U.S. bombing campaign against North Vietnam, flown by Air Force fighter-bombers from Thailand and Navy aircraft from carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin against some of the densest air defenses in the world.
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 6E, Line 115
- RALPH HOWARD LIVESAYPrivate First Class · April 15, 1966
- JOHN A MCCURDYCaptain · April 15, 1966
- ROBERT H SANTORELLASpecialist Four · April 15, 1966
- GILBERT BRIAN SUETOSPrivate First Class · April 15, 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.