The Wall › Panel 23W › Puerto Rico › Ruben Lopez-Merced
RUBEN LOPEZ-MERCED
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
January 14, 1948 – June 1, 1969
Service recordRuben Lopez-Merced, of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on June 1, 1969, in Quang Ngai Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 23W, Line 38 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 23W · Line 38
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
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Wire Systems Installer (36C)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 SIGNAL BDE
- Born
- January 14, 1948
- Home of record
- Guaynabo, Puerto Rico (Guaynabo County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- June 1, 1969
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Quang Ngai
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Died of Wounds
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
33 names on the Wall carry the date June 1, 1969; five of them were lost in Quảng Ngãi Province. In June 1969, 1,246 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “1 SIGNAL BDE”, his unit in the record, lost 8 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 23W, Line 38
- RAY EDWARD KNOLLSergeant · June 1, 1969
- LEONARD LEROY LEWISSpecialist Four · June 1, 1969
- JESSE STEPHEN MANUEL JRPrivate First Class · June 1, 1969
- DAVID LEE MILLSSpecialist Four · June 1, 1969
Same unit, same day
- JOSE L SANCHEZSpecialist Four · Panel 23W, Line 39
From Guaynabo
- EVANGELISTA PAGAN-RODRIGUEZPrivate First Class · November 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.