The Wall › Panel 40E › Indiana › Donald Gene Hicks
DONALD GENE HICKS
Private First Class · U.S. Army
January 22, 1947 – February 23, 1968
Service recordDonald Gene Hicks, of Indianapolis, Indiana, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on February 23, 1968, in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 40E, Line 74 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 40E · Line 74
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
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- January 22, 1947
- Home of record
- Indianapolis, Indiana (Marion County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 23, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Kontum
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
56 names on the Wall carry the date February 23, 1968; he was the only one lost in Kon Tum Province that day. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 4th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 140 of its members that month.
He died in Kon Tum 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 40E, Line 74
- ROBERT EARL GREENSpecialist Four · February 23, 1968
- WILLIAM REID HIGHTWarrant Officer 1 · February 23, 1968
- THOMAS WAYNE HILLPetty Officer Third Class · February 23, 1968
- LOUIS ALVARADO MARTINEZPrivate First Class · February 23, 1968
Same unit, same day
- RODNEY W JOHNSONStaff Sergeant · Panel 40E, Line 76
- JOSE ANGEL SALDIVARPrivate First Class · Panel 41E, Line 3
- DENNIS LEE SIEGELPrivate First Class · Panel 41E, Line 3
From Indianapolis
- JAMES EDWARD CAUGHEYSpecialist Four · August 14, 1964
- CLARENCE LEROY COLEMANSpecialist Five · February 10, 1965
- IVAN RAY SMITHPrivate First Class · May 13, 1965
- KENNETH LEROY REEDStaff Sergeant · June 12, 1965
- JOHN POWERS DAVISSpecialist Five · July 21, 1965
- CURLEY SHERELS JRCorporal · August 18, 1965
- ALVIN CARVER FORNEYCorporal · September 1, 1965
- WILLIAM LARRIE HUNTPrivate First Class · November 6, 1965
- THOMAS CURTIS METSKERCaptain · November 14, 1965
- VILIS LISMENTSCorporal · November 22, 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.