The Wall › Panel 40E › Michigan › Walter Marcellu Patterson
WALTER MARCELLU PATTERSON
Private First Class · U.S. Army
July 31, 1947 – February 19, 1968
Service recordWalter Marcellu Patterson, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on February 19, 1968, in Binh Thuan Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 40E, Line 28 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 40E · Line 28
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
- Regular
- Occupation
- Indirect Fire Infantryman (11C)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- July 31, 1947
- Home of record
- Grand Rapids, Michigan (Kent County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 19, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Binh Thuan
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
93 names on the Wall carry the date February 19, 1968; ten of them were lost in Binh Thuan Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 144 of its members that month.
He died in Binh Thuan 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 40E, Line 28
- JOHN PASS IIISpecialist Four · February 19, 1968
- JAMES DOUGLAS PENTLANDSpecialist Four · February 19, 1968
- DAVID ALLEN PITTSPrivate First Class · February 19, 1968
- SEVENTY J POLLOCKStaff Sergeant · February 19, 1968
Same unit, same day
- JAMES CLAIR FOSTERCorporal · Panel 40E, Line 17
- ASHLAND FREDERICK BURCHWELLFirst Lieutenant · Panel 40E, Line 18
- TIMOTHY LYNN COLLIERSpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 18
- GEORGE RONALD FULLERCorporal · Panel 40E, Line 21
- JOHN HERBERT GFELLERPlatoon Sergeant · Panel 40E, Line 21
- ROBERT DALE GRIFFISPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 21
- RONNIE HARRELLPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 22
- MARTIN ROY KNIGHTPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 23
- DONALD FISHER MARSHALL IISpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 25
- JAMES EDWARD MULLINSFirst Lieutenant · Panel 40E, Line 26
- JOHN PASS IIISpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 28
- CARL ALLAN RATTEESergeant · Panel 40E, Line 29
- WILLIAM ROBERT SEIBERTSergeant · Panel 40E, Line 30
- JERRY DONALD SISCO JRPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 31
- ENRIQUE LORENZO SOLIZSpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 32
- THOMAS CECIL VAUGHANSpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 33
- JAMES ROBERT WEBSTER JRSpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 34
From Grand Rapids
- MILLARD RUSSELL VALERIUSCaptain · May 28, 1965
- ROBERT JEROME MORONEYCaptain · December 14, 1965
- HERMAN LEROY HUEYSergeant · February 7, 1966
- DONALD BRUCE ADAMSONSecond Lieutenant · February 23, 1966
- JERRY EMMET PARKSPrivate First Class · March 5, 1966
- DAVID ORIN BAILEYPrivate First Class · April 8, 1966
- GARY SCOTT FERGUSONPrivate First Class · August 3, 1966
- DAVID LAWRENCE FAUGHTPrivate First Class · August 10, 1966
- EVERETTE ARTHUR THOMPSONPrivate First Class · August 10, 1966
- MATTHEW GEORGE MIEDEMAPrivate First Class · August 25, 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.