The Wall › Panel 34E › California › Mike Ralph Velasco
MIKE RALPH VELASCO
Sergeant · U.S. Army
June 21, 1945 – January 17, 1968
Service recordMike Ralph Velasco, of Los Angeles, California, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on January 17, 1968, in Bien Hoa Province, South Vietnam, at age 22. His name is inscribed on Panel 34E, Line 65 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 34E · Line 65
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
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 9 INF DIV
- Born
- June 21, 1945
- Home of record
- Los Angeles, California (Los Angeles County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 17, 1968
- Age
- 22
- Province
- Bien Hoa
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
22 names on the Wall carry the date January 17, 1968; he was the only one lost in Bien Hoa Province that day. In January 1968, 1,546 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 9th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 97 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 34E, Line 65
- KENNETH RAY BELSARPrivate First Class · January 17, 1968
- ARTHUR DWIGHT SINGLETONPrivate First Class · January 17, 1968
- ROBERT FREDERICK WILKEColonel · January 17, 1968
- CHARLES EDGAR WUERTENBERGERCaptain · January 17, 1968
Same unit, same day
- HERLEY AYER JRSergeant First Class · Panel 34E, Line 61
- WILLIE DURANTPrivate First Class · Panel 34E, Line 62
- RONALD LEE STROOMERPrivate First Class · Panel 34E, Line 62
- KENNETH RAY BELSARPrivate First Class · Panel 34E, Line 65
From Los Angeles
- JAMES WILLIAM MCNALLYTechnical Sergeant · October 23, 1963
- FRANK JOHN HOLGUINPrivate First Class · March 15, 1964
- RICHARD DEAN GOSSCaptain · August 29, 1964
- JOHN LOWERY MCCOYSergeant First Class · September 26, 1964
- JAMES HENRY MCLEANMaster Sergeant · February 9, 1965
- DWIGHT GLENN FRAKESChief Petty Officer · February 24, 1965
- AARON HAROLD WESTERNPrivate First Class · June 16, 1965
- EDWARD JAMES ANDERSPrivate First Class · June 18, 1965
- MAURICE RICHARD HILLPrivate · June 29, 1965
- WILLIAM WARREN HAILLieutenant Colonel · August 2, 1965
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.