The Wall › Panel 47E › North Dakota › Ralph Charles McCowan
RALPH CHARLES MCCOWAN
Private First Class · U.S. Army
April 26, 1948 – April 3, 1968
Service recordRalph Charles McCowan, of Trenton, North Dakota, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on April 3, 1968, in Binh Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 47E, Line 53 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 47E · Line 53
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
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Tactical Wire Operations Specialist (36K)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 FIELD FORCE
- Born
- April 26, 1948
- Home of record
- Trenton, North Dakota (Williams County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 3, 1968
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Binh Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
65 names on the Wall carry the date April 3, 1968; 14 of them were lost in Bình Định Province. In April 1968, 1,580 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “1 FIELD FORCE”, his unit in the record, lost 22 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 47E, Line 53
- ROGER ALLAN QUINNMajor · April 3, 1968
- JOSEPH G L QUIRION JRCorporal · April 3, 1968
- DANNY JOE RICHARDSONSpecialist Four · April 3, 1968
- PAUL THOMAS WRIGHTPrivate First Class · April 3, 1968
Same unit, same day
- LARRY WAYNE BARRETTPrivate First Class · Panel 47E, Line 45
- FELIPE DURAN CAMARILLOStaff Sergeant · Panel 47E, Line 47
- ROBERT LYNN CASWELLSpecialist Four · Panel 47E, Line 47
- GILBERT DELA PENASpecialist Four · Panel 47E, Line 48
- FRED RICHARD GLOVERSpecialist Four · Panel 47E, Line 50
- DANNY JOE RICHARDSONSpecialist Four · Panel 47E, Line 53
- EDGAR LEE SIMMONSCorporal · Panel 47E, Line 55
- ROBERT JAMES SOVIZALSecond Lieutenant · Panel 47E, Line 56
- THOMAS PETER VISKERPrivate First Class · Panel 47E, Line 57
- ELBERT BERTON WALKERPrivate First Class · Panel 47E, Line 57
- JOHN TERRELL WILKINSONFirst Lieutenant · Panel 47E, Line 58
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.