The Wall › Panel 10W › California › Silvestre Martinez Rivera
SILVESTRE MARTINEZ RIVERA
Sergeant · U.S. Army
July 10, 1948 – May 14, 1970
Service recordSilvestre Martinez Rivera, of Kerman, California, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on May 14, 1970, in Cambodia, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 10W, Line 43 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 10W · Line 43
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
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- July 10, 1948
- Home of record
- Kerman, California (Fresno County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 14, 1970
- Age
- 21
- Country
- Cambodia
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
34 names on the Wall carry the date May 14, 1970. In May 1970, 917 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 4th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 42 of its members that month.
He died in Cambodia while the Cambodian incursion was under way. From 29 April to 30 June 1970, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces crossed into Cambodia to attack North Vietnamese base areas and supply caches; the announcement set off campus protests, including at Kent State.
Also on Panel 10W, Line 43
- JAMES PORTWOOD JRCorporal · May 14, 1970
- RONALD EUGENE SCHMIDTStaff Sergeant · May 14, 1970
- HERMAN SERNASpecialist Five · May 14, 1970
- JACK RUSSELL SMITHWarrant Officer 1 · May 14, 1970
Same unit, same day
- THOMAS JOSEPH PETELAPrivate First Class · Panel 10W, Line 42
- LEROY WALLACESergeant · Panel 10W, Line 44
From Kerman
- JAMES BILL ROGOFFSpecialist Four · January 30, 1966
- JOSEPH CAUDILLOCaptain · May 3, 1967
- STEVEN LEONARD PALMQUISTLance Corporal · October 2, 1968
- CALVIN RAY PRATERPrivate First Class · February 25, 1969
- GARY WAYNE RAGSDALELance Corporal · June 14, 1970
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.