The Wall › Panel 45E › California › Benji Yamane
BENJI YAMANE
Sergeant · U.S. Army
March 31, 1947 – March 16, 1968
Service recordBenji Yamane, of Oakland, California, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on March 16, 1968, in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 45E, Line 6 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 45E · Line 6
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
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 198 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- March 31, 1947
- Home of record
- Oakland, California (Alameda County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 16, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Quang Nam
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
51 names on the Wall carry the date March 16, 1968; 11 of them were lost in Quảng Nam Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 198th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 23 of its members that month.
He died in Quảng Nam 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 45E, Line 6
- DAVID LEROY SIMMONSSergeant · March 16, 1968
- HOWARD BRUCE SMITHPrivate First Class · March 16, 1968
- KENNETH RAY WELLSPrivate First Class · March 16, 1968
- MICHEL T WHEELERCorporal · March 16, 1968
Same unit, same day
- GARY DALE HICKSPrivate First Class · Panel 45E, Line 4
- DEWEY RAY OWENSPrivate First Class · Panel 45E, Line 4
From Oakland
- CHARLES DARYL KEARNEYLance Corporal · July 8, 1965
- LAURIANO LAWRENCE LOVATOPrivate First Class · October 9, 1965
- WALTER JOHN GELIENChief Petty Officer · October 28, 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
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.