The Wall › Panel 18W › Pennsylvania › Thomas Patrick McKerns
THOMAS PATRICK MCKERNS
Private First Class · U.S. Army
July 1, 1948 – August 28, 1969
Service recordThomas Patrick McKerns, of Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on August 28, 1969, in Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 18W, Line 3 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 18W · Line 3
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.
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 196 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- July 1, 1948
- Home of record
- Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania (Schuylkill County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- August 28, 1969
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Quang Tin
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
33 names on the Wall carry the date August 28, 1969; five of them were lost in Quảng Tín Province. In August 1969, 962 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 196th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 74 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 18W, Line 3
- ROBERT WARREN MCCABE JRLance Corporal · August 28, 1969
- WILLIAM FAY RABURNSpecialist Four · August 28, 1969
- JAN IVAN RASENYUCKPrivate First Class · August 28, 1969
- JOHN CURTIS REEVSLance Corporal · August 28, 1969
Same unit, same day
- JAMES ALDEN DOUGHTYPrivate First Class · Panel 19W, Line 128
- ROBERT GONZALESPrivate First Class · Panel 18W, Line 1
- CHARLES EDWARD JACKSONPrivate First Class · Panel 18W, Line 1
- CHARLIE SIMMONS JRCorporal · Panel 18W, Line 5
From Mahanoy City
- DONALD JOSEPH SEAMANTechnical Sergeant · May 16, 1965
- MICHAEL JOHN KAPLAFKASergeant · June 12, 1968
- PAUL JOSEPH MITCHELLCorporal · February 23, 1969
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.