The Wall › Panel 40E › Illinois › Michael William Elben
MICHAEL WILLIAM ELBEN
Staff Sergeant · U.S. Army
December 31, 1945 – February 19, 1968
Service recordMichael William Elben, of Decatur, Illinois, served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on February 19, 1968, in Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam, at age 22. His name is inscribed on Panel 40E, Line 20 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 40E · Line 20
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
- Staff Sergeant (SSG)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- AMERICAL DIV
- Born
- December 31, 1945
- Home of record
- Decatur, Illinois (Macon County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 19, 1968
- Age
- 22
- Province
- Quang Tin
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
93 names on the Wall carry the date February 19, 1968; he was the only one lost in Quảng Tín Province that day. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The Americal Division, his unit in the record, lost 23 of its members that month.
He died in Quảng Tín Province while the Tet Offensive was under way. Beginning on the night of 30–31 January 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces attacked more than 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. February 1968 was the deadliest month of the war for Americans.
Also on Panel 40E, Line 20
- STEVEN RICHARD ANDERSONSpecialist Four · February 19, 1968
- TERRENCE EUGENE FEDORPrivate First Class · February 19, 1968
- JAMES LEE FELTYStaff Sergeant · February 19, 1968
- JOSEPH KENNETH FISHLance Corporal · February 19, 1968
From Decatur
- ROGER HUGH MULLINSLieutenant Commander · February 17, 1960
- HERBERT J DEXTERMajor · September 18, 1965
- JAMES DARRELL WHITE JRPrivate First Class · January 29, 1966
- WILLIAM PATRICK FORANLance Corporal · March 1, 1966
- RONALD THOMAS SHELTONCaptain · April 10, 1966
- BRYAN B STOCKWELLPrivate First Class · September 20, 1966
- JOHN RUSSELL SMITHLance Corporal · October 5, 1966
- CARL GENE SMITHSpecialist Four · February 13, 1967
- STEPHEN RAY BANGERTLance Corporal · March 2, 1967
- JAMES THOMAS BRADSHAWPrivate First Class · March 18, 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.