The Wall › Panel 13W › Illinois › Olaf Thomas Olsen
OLAF THOMAS OLSEN
Corporal · U.S. Army
May 29, 1948 – March 11, 1970
Service recordOlaf Thomas Olsen, of Melrose Park, Illinois, served as a Corporal in the U.S. Army. He died on March 11, 1970, in Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 13W, Line 113 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 13W · Line 113
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
- Corporal (CPL)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 25 INF DIV
- Born
- May 29, 1948
- Home of record
- Melrose Park, Illinois (Cook County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 11, 1970
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Tay Ninh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Artillery/Mortar/Rocket
Context · from the records
What was happening
25 names on the Wall carry the date March 11, 1970; five of them were lost in Tây Ninh Province. In March 1970, 625 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 25th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 53 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 13W, Line 113
- DAVID LINWOOD MATHISCaptain · March 11, 1970
- JOHN ROBERT PINERSergeant · March 11, 1970
- PETER LOUIS PROCOPIOSpecialist Four · March 11, 1970
Same unit, same day
- JOHN MICHAEL CHAPPEYCorporal · Panel 13W, Line 110
- ROGER LEROY COFFMANStaff Sergeant · Panel 13W, Line 111
- RODNEY GLENN HELSELCorporal · Panel 13W, Line 112
From Melrose Park
- JOSEPH ANTHONY MAGGIO JRPrivate · May 25, 1967
- JON PETER TURKCorporal · October 27, 1967
- DWIGHT FARWELL BENNETT JRLance Corporal · November 29, 1967
- THOMAS HOWARD HEISEPrivate First Class · May 10, 1969
- FRANK R GILCHRIST JRPrivate First Class · July 30, 1969
- CHARLES NORBERT KOWALKSpecialist Four · May 21, 1971
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.