The Wall › Panel 5W › California › Robert Joseph Engen
ROBERT JOSEPH ENGEN
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
April 3, 1951 – February 18, 1971
Service recordRobert Joseph Engen, of Stockton, California, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on February 18, 1971, in Laos, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 5W, Line 115 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 5W · Line 115
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
- Ah-1 Attack Helicopter Repairer (67Y)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- April 3, 1951
- Home of record
- Stockton, California (San Joaquin County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 18, 1971
- Age
- 19
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
Context · from the records
What was happening
27 names on the Wall carry the date February 18, 1971. In February 1971, 387 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 50 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while Operation Lam Son 719 was under way. In Lam Son 719 (February–March 1971), South Vietnamese troops drove into Laos to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail, carried and supported by U.S. helicopters and aircraft; more than 100 U.S. helicopters were lost.
Also on Panel 5W, Line 115
- JOSEPH GORDON BROWNChief Warrant Officer 2 · February 18, 1971
- GREGORY STEPHEN CRANDALLWarrant Officer 1 · February 18, 1971
- WALTER EDWARD DEMSEY JRSpecialist Four · February 18, 1971
- DONALD GENE GIBLERSpecialist Four · February 18, 1971
Same unit, same day
- GEORGE PHILLIP BERGChief Warrant Officer 2 · Panel 5W, Line 114
- GREGORY STEPHEN CRANDALLWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 5W, Line 115
- WALTER EDWARD DEMSEY JRSpecialist Four · Panel 5W, Line 115
- GARY LEE JOHNSONSpecialist Four · Panel 5W, Line 116
- WALTER EDWARD LEWELLENSergeant · Panel 5W, Line 117
- GERALD ERNEST WOODSWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 5W, Line 119
From Stockton
- RAPHAEL CRUZStaff Sergeant · September 2, 1963
- RICHARD LEBROU WHITESIDESCaptain · March 26, 1964
- ROLAND VINCENT JAGER JRPrivate First Class · December 6, 1964
- ROBERT SANCHEZ FERNANDEZPrivate First Class · May 20, 1965
- BENJIMAN BROOKSSergeant · November 18, 1965
- ROMIRO C RODRIGUEZSpecialist Four · December 1, 1965
- RONALD EUGENE CUMMINGSPrivate First Class · December 10, 1965
- STANLEY KENTON SEMLERPrivate First Class · January 29, 1966
- RICHARD ALLEN WAGNERPrivate First Class · March 5, 1966
- JOHN LEIGH MCCARTYCorporal · March 28, 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.