Olson, Barry Allen
Army Private 1st class

Barry A. Olson from Albert Lea, Minnesota, Freeborn county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: September 26, 1968
Death details: 

Private First Class (PFC) Barry Allen Olson, who joined the U.S. Army from Minnesota, served with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. On September 26, 1968, while his unit conducted a tactical movement along Highway 14 in South Vietnam, PFC Olson was riding in an armored personnel carrier (APC) when it was hit by an anti-tank round in the vicinity of grid coordinates BQ 001 372. The round struck close to where PFC Olson was seated, and the blast detonated several boxes of Claymore mines and grenades. Private First Class Olson’s remains could not be recovered following the explosion. After the incident, the Army promoted PFC Olson to the rank of sergeant first class. Today, Sergeant First Class Olson is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency