The Wall › Panel 17W › New Jersey › Ralph Ernest Piano JR
RALPH ERNEST PIANO JR
Private First Class · U.S. Army
September 8, 1948 – October 5, 1969
Service recordRalph Ernest Piano JR, of Madison, New Jersey, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on October 5, 1969, in Quang Ngai Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 17W, Line 43 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 17W · Line 43
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
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 198 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- September 8, 1948
- Home of record
- Madison, New Jersey (Morris County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- October 5, 1969
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Quang Ngai
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
28 names on the Wall carry the date October 5, 1969; six of them were lost in Quảng Ngãi Province. In October 1969, 600 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 198th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 13 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 17W, Line 43
- WILLIAM L ERICKSON JRSpecialist Four · October 5, 1969
- JAMES HERBERT NOBLEPrivate First Class · October 5, 1969
- DENNIS JAMES RODRIGUEZPrivate First Class · October 5, 1969
- BILLY DALE SHORTSpecialist Four · October 5, 1969
Same unit, same day
- SHELBY GENE FOSTERPrivate First Class · Panel 17W, Line 41
- ROBERT MARION HAYNES JRSpecialist Four · Panel 17W, Line 41
- LARRY GENE BURKHOLDERPrivate First Class · Panel 17W, Line 44
From Madison
- ROBERT L MURPHYSpecialist Four · May 22, 1967
- RUSSEL WARREN ENGLESpecialist Four · June 22, 1967
- JOHN THOMAS COLL JRFirst Lieutenant · November 17, 1967
- DOUGLAS JOSEPH MARKOVICHSpecialist Four · March 1, 1969
- WALTER BUSILL TULLY JRMajor · March 2, 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.