The Wall › Panel 39E › California › Thomas Otis Meek
THOMAS OTIS MEEK
Private First Class · U.S. Army
October 7, 1947 – February 17, 1968
Service recordThomas Otis Meek, of Los Angeles, California, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on February 17, 1968, in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 39E, Line 74 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 39E · Line 74
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
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- October 7, 1947
- Home of record
- Los Angeles, California (Los Angeles County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 17, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Kontum
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Died of Wounds
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
51 names on the Wall carry the date February 17, 1968; he was the only one lost in Kon Tum Province that day. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 4th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 140 of its members that month.
He died in Kon Tum Province while the Tet Offensive was under way. Beginning on the night of 30–31 January 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces attacked more than 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. February 1968 was the deadliest month of the war for Americans.
Also on Panel 39E, Line 74
- DENNIS JAY LULOFSSergeant · February 17, 1968
- WILLIAM THOMAS MANGUM JRPrivate First Class · February 17, 1968
- JAMES EDWARD MARTINAirman · February 17, 1968
- THOMAS VINCENT MAYBURYLance Corporal · February 17, 1968
Same unit, same day
- CHARLES PAUL HEADLEYSpecialist Four · Panel 39E, Line 75
From Los Angeles
- JAMES WILLIAM MCNALLYTechnical Sergeant · October 23, 1963
- FRANK JOHN HOLGUINPrivate First Class · March 15, 1964
- RICHARD DEAN GOSSCaptain · August 29, 1964
- JOHN LOWERY MCCOYSergeant First Class · September 26, 1964
- JAMES HENRY MCLEANMaster Sergeant · February 9, 1965
- DWIGHT GLENN FRAKESChief Petty Officer · February 24, 1965
- AARON HAROLD WESTERNPrivate First Class · June 16, 1965
- EDWARD JAMES ANDERSPrivate First Class · June 18, 1965
- MAURICE RICHARD HILLPrivate · June 29, 1965
- WILLIAM WARREN HAILLieutenant Colonel · August 2, 1965
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.