The Wall › Panel 5E › Illinois › Rick Edward Kopka
RICK EDWARD KOPKA
Corporal · U.S. Marine Corps
November 10, 1943 – February 27, 1966
Service recordRick Edward Kopka, of Calumet City, Illinois, served as a Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on February 27, 1966, in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam, at age 22. His name is inscribed on Panel 5E, Line 83 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 5E · Line 83
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. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Corporal (CPL)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Motor Vehicle Operator (3531)
- Born
- November 10, 1943
- Home of record
- Calumet City, Illinois (Cook County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 27, 1966
- Age
- 22
- Province
- Quang Nam
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Other Accident
Context · from the records
What was happening
Nine names on the Wall carry the date February 27, 1966; he was the only one lost in Quảng Nam Province that day. In February 1966, 513 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
Also on Panel 5E, Line 83
- DAVID LEE DANOWSKIPrivate First Class · February 27, 1966
- EDWARD STEPHEN GRAVESPrivate First Class · February 27, 1966
- PAUL ELROY HELSEL JRSpecialist Four · February 27, 1966
- LAWRENCE BEVERLY MCCLOUDPrivate First Class · February 27, 1966
From Calumet City
- RICHARD JAMES SCHUTZSpecialist Four · July 21, 1967
- HAROLD EDWARD REKAUPrivate First Class · March 3, 1968
- STANLEY ZALEWSKI JRCorporal · April 10, 1968
- FREDERICK DALE STEPHENSONCorporal · July 22, 1968
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.