The Wall › Panel 46E › Oklahoma › William Michael Saunders
WILLIAM MICHAEL SAUNDERS
Private First Class · U.S. Army
September 14, 1949 – March 23, 1968
Service recordWilliam Michael Saunders, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on March 23, 1968, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 18. His name is inscribed on Panel 46E, Line 1 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 46E · 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
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Field Artillery Basic (13A)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- September 14, 1949
- Home of record
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Multiple County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 23, 1968
- Age
- 18
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Died of Wounds
- Circumstance
- Artillery/Mortar/Rocket
Context · from the records
What was happening
23 names on the Wall carry the date March 23, 1968; five of them were lost in Thừa Thiên Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 208 of its members that month.
He died in Thừa Thiên 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 46E, Line 1
- WILLIAM RONALD PHILLIPSSeaman · March 23, 1968
- JOSEPH MICHAEL ROMEROLance Corporal · March 23, 1968
- EDWARD ALVA SHARROCKSpecialist Four · March 23, 1968
- DANNY EUGENE TUCKERPrivate First Class · March 23, 1968
Same unit, same day
- EULAS FAY GREGORYStaff Sergeant · Panel 45E, Line 63
- MICHAEL PAUL HARRISCorporal · Panel 45E, Line 63
- DONALD FRANCIS LANDERSCorporal · Panel 45E, Line 64
From Oklahoma City
- LAVESTER LEE WILLIAMSCaptain · March 23, 1963
- GORDON RICHARD BROWNCaptain · October 24, 1963
- CHARLES KENNETH SIDESLance Corporal · March 26, 1965
- FRANK PETER WATSONCaptain · June 18, 1965
- LARRY DREW HARVEYCorporal · October 3, 1965
- GARY HOWARD JONESPrivate First Class · October 14, 1965
- GEORGE RAY THOMPSONSergeant · December 12, 1965
- JEFF GOUDEAU JRPrivate First Class · December 13, 1965
- GARY RAY ARTMANSpecialist Four · February 18, 1966
- JERRY D LEWISSpecialist Four · March 16, 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.