The Wall › Panel 9W › Pennsylvania › Walter Melvin Pierce
WALTER MELVIN PIERCE
Private First Class · U.S. Army
March 17, 1951 – June 10, 1970
Service recordWalter Melvin Pierce, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on June 10, 1970, in Cambodia, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 9W, Line 40 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 9W · Line 40
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
- Armor Crewman (11E)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 11 ARMORED CAV
- Born
- March 17, 1951
- Home of record
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- June 10, 1970
- Age
- 19
- Country
- Cambodia
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Drowning
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
29 names on the Wall carry the date June 10, 1970. In June 1970, 560 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “11 ARMORED CAV”, his unit in the record, lost 21 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.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 9W, Line 40
- DONALD P MARKLAND IIISergeant · June 10, 1970
- JOHN ROBERT MUNGERSergeant · June 10, 1970
- PHILIP MOREY OVERBECKFirst Lieutenant · June 10, 1970
- RONALD WAYNE RASHSpecialist Five · June 10, 1970
From Philadelphia
- MEIR ENGELLieutenant Colonel · December 16, 1964
- MATTHEW N HARRIS JRMaster Sergeant · May 28, 1965
- ALLEN CONRAD HERTZFirst Lieutenant · June 6, 1965
- MILO BENETT STIBBINSSpecialist Five · June 11, 1965
- JOSEPH PATRICK GRUGANCorporal · June 26, 1965
- ROWLAND JOSEPH ADAMOLICorporal · August 18, 1965
- FRANK AMOS HENISSPrivate First Class · September 7, 1965
- EARL CHARLES WILLOUGHBYChief Master Sergeant · September 7, 1965
- WILLIAM A MITCHELL IIPetty Officer Third Class · September 12, 1965
- WILLIAM GREGORY MAURONEPrivate First Class · September 30, 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.