The Wall › Panel 47E › Indiana › Michael William Downing
MICHAEL WILLIAM DOWNING
Sergeant · U.S. Army
May 19, 1947 – April 3, 1968
Service recordMichael William Downing, of Elwood, Indiana, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on April 3, 1968, in Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 47E, Line 49 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 47E · Line 49
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
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 INF DIV
- Born
- May 19, 1947
- Home of record
- Elwood, Indiana (Madison County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 3, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Binh Duong
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Artillery/Mortar/Rocket
Context · from the records
What was happening
65 names on the Wall carry the date April 3, 1968; three of them were lost in Bình Dương Province. In April 1968, 1,580 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 79 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 47E, Line 49
- RAYMOND LAWRENCE DILLONCorporal · April 3, 1968
- RICHARD L FAHRENBRUCHSergeant · April 3, 1968
- JOHN WILLIAM FOXCorporal · April 3, 1968
- ROBERT GONZALEZPrivate First Class · April 3, 1968
Same unit, same day
- ALBERT WAYNE CUDWORTHPrivate First Class · Panel 47E, Line 48
- JAMES GRADY JOHNSONPrivate First Class · Panel 47E, Line 51
- ROBERT SMITHSpecialist Four · Panel 47E, Line 55
- WILLIE JAMES SMITHPrivate First Class · Panel 47E, Line 56
From Elwood
- GREGORY SCOTT FENNIMOREPrivate First Class · November 20, 1967
- JOHN LEE CROYPrivate First Class · May 22, 1969
- JOHN ROBERT BRAGGSergeant · June 6, 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.