The Wall › Panel 3E › California › Walter John Gelien
WALTER JOHN GELIEN
Chief Petty Officer · U.S. Navy
August 18, 1930 – October 28, 1965
Service recordWalter John Gelien, of Oakland, California, served as a Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy. He died on October 28, 1965, in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam, at age 35. His name is inscribed on Panel 3E, Line 1 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 3E · Line 1
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. Navy
- Rank
- Chief Petty Officer (CPO)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Hospital Corpsman (HM)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 7 FLT
- Born
- August 18, 1930
- Home of record
- Oakland, California (Alameda County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- October 28, 1965
- Age
- 35
- Province
- Quang Nam
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
18 names on the Wall carry the date October 28, 1965; five of them were lost in Quảng Nam Province. In October 1965, 236 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
Also on Panel 3E, Line 1
- GEZA TEGLASSergeant · October 27, 1965
- FRANK DAVID GARRETTPrivate First Class · October 28, 1965
- EDWARD ELLIOTT GRABOSKEYPrivate First Class · October 28, 1965
- WILLIAM A SLAUGHTER JRPrivate First Class · October 28, 1965
From Oakland
- CHARLES DARYL KEARNEYLance Corporal · July 8, 1965
- LAURIANO LAWRENCE LOVATOPrivate First Class · October 9, 1965
- FRED LAWER MCPHERSONMajor · January 28, 1966
- WALLACE RAY JACOBSENStaff Sergeant · January 30, 1966
- JOE NEAL JAMESSpecialist Four · February 23, 1966
- DON WILLIAM CHABOTMajor · March 15, 1966
- WALTER GLENN SHULTSLance Corporal · March 21, 1966
- DAVID LEE DODSONPrivate First Class · June 7, 1966
- CHRIS C VURLUMISCaptain · June 8, 1966
- GARY ALLAEN MACHADOPrivate First Class · July 6, 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.
