The Wall › Panel 10W › Michigan › Thomas Joseph Petela
THOMAS JOSEPH PETELA
Private First Class · U.S. Army
February 16, 1950 – May 14, 1970
Service recordThomas Joseph Petela, of Warren, Michigan, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on May 14, 1970, in Cambodia, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 10W, Line 42 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 10W · Line 42
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
Did you know him? Family members and friends are invited to share a photograph or a memory. Nothing is posted until it has been reviewed.
Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- February 16, 1950
- Home of record
- Warren, Michigan (Macomb County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 14, 1970
- Age
- 20
- Country
- Cambodia
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
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 42
- JAMES LEE LOISELCorporal · May 14, 1970
- ROBERT ERNEST LOWESergeant · May 14, 1970
- JAMES EDWARD MIREMONTSergeant · May 14, 1970
- DEREK WILKERSON PATRICKCorporal · May 14, 1970
Same unit, same day
- SILVESTRE MARTINEZ RIVERASergeant · Panel 10W, Line 43
- LEROY WALLACESergeant · Panel 10W, Line 44
From Warren
- RONALD FRANK SKOVIAKCorporal · October 8, 1963
- RICHARD LEE HOLLINGSWORTHSergeant · January 9, 1966
- DENNIS M LYDENPrivate First Class · March 5, 1966
- GERALD RICCICorporal · February 12, 1967
- ROMAN ROZEL VILLAMOR JRLance Corporal · March 31, 1967
- ALAN LANECorporal · May 13, 1967
- JEREMY MICHAEL JARVISMajor · July 25, 1967
- RICHARD ALLEN JACOBSPrivate First Class · August 27, 1967
- MICHAEL AUGUST HOGLUNDSergeant · November 10, 1967
- ROGER JOSEPH HOOVERPrivate · December 1, 1967
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.