The Wall › Panel 19W › Florida › Robert Melvin Nelson
ROBERT MELVIN NELSON
Captain · U.S. Army
August 27, 1939 – August 19, 1969
Service recordRobert Melvin Nelson, of Bradenton, Florida, served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. He died on August 19, 1969, in Laos, at age 29. His name is inscribed on Panel 19W, Line 72 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 19W · Line 72
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
- Captain (CPT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Parachutist, Infantry Unit Commander (71542)
- Born
- August 27, 1939
- Home of record
- Bradenton, Florida (Manatee County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- August 19, 1969
- Age
- 29
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — Passenger (MC)
Context · from the records
What was happening
57 names on the Wall carry the date August 19, 1969. In August 1969, 962 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 19W, Line 72
- HARVEY RICHARD MCCUISTONPrivate First Class · August 19, 1969
- JOHN STEWART ORLEMANNSecond Lieutenant · August 19, 1969
- GEORGE WILLIAM PEARSON JRSpecialist Four · August 19, 1969
- JOHN DAVID PLUMMERWarrant Officer 1 · August 19, 1969
From Bradenton
- ROBERT BREWSTER LOWEFirst Lieutenant · April 29, 1966
- HAROLD STANLEY WILSONSpecialist Four · February 19, 1967
- JOHN R VANNORMAN IIILance Corporal · June 14, 1967
- BLAKELY IRVING DAVIS JRHospitalman · July 29, 1967
- JAMES HAROLD BEAVERSpecialist Four · March 16, 1968
- FRED CARLTON JENKINSSpecialist Five · April 2, 1968
- DALE WARREN PARKERStaff Sergeant · April 6, 1968
- LARRY CHARLES BOLYARDFirst Lieutenant · April 28, 1968
- SHERRY JOE HADLEYCorporal · May 27, 1968
- BOBBY LEE RILEYPrivate First Class · August 14, 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.