The Wall › Panel 1W › Kansas › Robert Dale McLaren
ROBERT DALE MCLAREN
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
April 18, 1951 – June 24, 1972
Service recordRobert Dale McLaren, of Wichita, Kansas, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on June 24, 1972, in Pleiku Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 49 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 49
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
- Specialist Four (SP4)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- April 18, 1951
- Home of record
- Wichita, Kansas (Sedgwick County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- June 24, 1972
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Pleiku
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Other Accident
Context · from the records
What was happening
Three names on the Wall carry the date June 24, 1972; he was the only one lost in Pleiku Province that day. In June 1972, 88 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Aviation Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 13 of its members that month.
He died in Pleiku Province while the Easter Offensive was under way. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched its largest offensive since 1968, attacking across the DMZ, toward An Lộc and into the Central Highlands. By then few U.S. ground troops remained; American advisers and air power fought alongside the South Vietnamese.
Also on Panel 1W, Line 49
- JAMES LON MCCARTYCaptain · June 24, 1972
- THOMAS JOSEPH JOZEFOWSKICaptain · June 25, 1972
- GEOFFREY RAYMOND SHUMWAYLieutenant Commander · June 25, 1972
- DAVID LEWIS YOAKUMCaptain · June 25, 1972
From Wichita
- RICHARD DEAN SMITHLieutenant Colonel · March 11, 1965
- GARY LYNN DICKEYLance Corporal · July 23, 1965
- LOUIS DON ROYSTON JRPrivate First Class · September 1, 1965
- REBEL LEE HOLCOMBSergeant · November 8, 1965
- HENRY GENTRY JRPrivate First Class · December 5, 1965
- DANIEL ALBERT DICKINSONSpecialist Four · December 6, 1965
- DONALD DEAN KARLINCorporal · December 18, 1965
- CHARLES RONALD GURTLERLance Corporal · April 21, 1966
- ROBERT GARY MALONECorporal · July 28, 1966
- JAMES EDWARD REIDPrivate First Class · August 26, 1966
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.