The Wall › Panel 28W › Illinois › Rand Russell Merker
RAND RUSSELL MERKER
Warrant Officer 1 · U.S. Army
January 2, 1948 – March 26, 1969
Service recordRand Russell Merker, of Northbrook, Illinois, served as a Warrant Officer 1 in the U.S. Army. He died on March 26, 1969, in Pleiku Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 28W, Line 50 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 28W · Line 50
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
- Warrant Officer 1 (WO1)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Helicopter Pilot, Utility And Light Cargo Single Rotor (062B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- January 2, 1948
- Home of record
- Northbrook, Illinois (Cook County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 26, 1969
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Pleiku
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
71 names on the Wall carry the date March 26, 1969; five of them were lost in Pleiku Province. In March 1969, 1,553 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 4th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 174 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 28W, Line 50
- FRANKIE B MCDANIELPrivate First Class · March 26, 1969
- CARLTON LEE MONROESpecialist Four · March 26, 1969
- TERRY DWIGHT MOORESpecialist Four · March 26, 1969
- ANTONIO RUIZ MORALESSpecialist Four · March 26, 1969
Same unit, same day
- DANIEL KENNETH HINKELPrivate First Class · Panel 28W, Line 47
- JAMES LEE LOCKEFirst Lieutenant · Panel 28W, Line 49
- DAVID STONESpecialist Four · Panel 28W, Line 53
- RONALD WINSTON THOMPKINSFirst Lieutenant · Panel 28W, Line 54
- DONNIS GLEN WILLISPrivate First Class · Panel 28W, Line 55
From Northbrook
- DONALD EDWARD KOELPERCaptain · February 16, 1964
- JAMES JAY HEALEYPrivate First Class · November 3, 1966
- DONALD JOSEPH RIONPetty Officer Third Class · December 10, 1966
- ROJELIO BOCANEGRALance Corporal · June 4, 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.