The Wall › Panel 38E › Tennessee › Charles Edward Novel
CHARLES EDWARD NOVEL
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
February 11, 1946 – February 9, 1968
Service recordCharles Edward Novel, of Dyersburg, Tennessee, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on February 9, 1968, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 38E, Line 57 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 38E · Line 57
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
- Specialist Four (SP4)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Food Service Specialist (94B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- February 11, 1946
- Home of record
- Dyersburg, Tennessee (Dyer County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 9, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
107 names on the Wall carry the date February 9, 1968; 21 of them were lost in Thừa Thiên 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 Thừa Thiên Province while the Battle of Huế was under way. At Huế (31 January–2 March 1968), Marines, soldiers of the 1st Cavalry and 101st Airborne divisions and South Vietnamese troops fought house to house for 26 days to retake the old imperial capital, the longest urban battle of the war. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
Also on Panel 38E, Line 57
- SAMUEL T MCDOWELL JRSecond Lieutenant · February 9, 1968
- ROBERT JOSEPH NARDELLISpecialist Four · February 9, 1968
- THOMAS NORTONSpecialist Four · February 9, 1968
- JERRY A NOVAKOVICHSecond Lieutenant · February 9, 1968
Same unit, same day
- CHARLES J CRAWFORD JRSpecialist Six · Panel 38E, Line 44
- BERNARD JOHN CARONStaff Sergeant · Panel 38E, Line 46
- CLYDE LAWRENCE DEMELLOCorporal · Panel 38E, Line 48
- THOMAS NORTONSpecialist Four · Panel 38E, Line 57
- JOSEPH WILFRED ROUNSEVILLEFirst Sergeant · Panel 38E, Line 60
- BENJAMIN JOHN TEREJKO JRSpecialist Four · Panel 38E, Line 61
- DOUGLAS BUREM WADESecond Lieutenant · Panel 38E, Line 62
- DONALD STEVEN WAITESpecialist Four · Panel 38E, Line 62
From Dyersburg
- JAMES ALTON GARDNERFirst Lieutenant · February 7, 1966
- ROBERT LEE DUNCANCorporal · October 6, 1967
- JOE THOMAS KEMMERLINGStaff Sergeant · April 2, 1968
- IVY GALE CHILDRESSSpecialist Four · June 25, 1968
- WILLIAM LEE HARRISPrivate First Class · June 28, 1968
- JERRY PAUL BARBEEPrivate First Class · July 5, 1968
- JOSEPH WESTER JONES IIICaptain · October 8, 1968
- BOBBY JOE LEMONSSergeant · May 19, 1970
- JAMES PATRICK CODDINGTONMajor · November 9, 1970
- JOHN HARRY BROCKSergeant · July 7, 1972
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.