The Wall › Panel 39E › New Jersey › Donald Leta
DONALD LETA
Second Lieutenant · U.S. Army
November 18, 1944 – February 13, 1968
Service recordDonald Leta, of Irvington, New Jersey, served as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He died on February 13, 1968, in Hua Nghia Province, South Vietnam, at age 23. His name is inscribed on Panel 39E, Line 22 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 39E · Line 22
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
- Second Lieutenant (2LT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Infantry Unit Commander (1542)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 25 INF DIV
- Born
- November 18, 1944
- Home of record
- Irvington, New Jersey (Essex County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 13, 1968
- Age
- 23
- Province
- Hua Nghia
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
60 names on the Wall carry the date February 13, 1968; four of them were lost in Hua Nghia Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 25th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 232 of its members that month.
He died in Hua Nghia 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 39E, Line 22
- DANIEL ALAN HILDEBRANDTPrivate First Class · February 13, 1968
- PETER WYETH JOHNSONFirst Lieutenant · February 13, 1968
- PERFECTO NUNEZ LOPEZLance Corporal · February 13, 1968
- CHARLES RICHARD MORGANPrivate First Class · February 13, 1968
Same unit, same day
- FRANCIS IGNATIUS ARNETTSergeant · Panel 39E, Line 16
- LARRY WAYNE BARNARDSergeant · Panel 39E, Line 17
- ROBERT JOHN CHAMBERSSpecialist Four · Panel 39E, Line 18
- DONALD HUSTON COLEMANStaff Sergeant · Panel 39E, Line 18
- HARRY FRANK EDWARD PEEPLESSergeant · Panel 39E, Line 24
- ALEX ROBERT TOLPAROFFSpecialist Four · Panel 39E, Line 27
From Irvington
- JOHN WILLIAM SCHWEYHER JRPrivate First Class · June 20, 1967
- JOHN CHARLES HILLPrivate First Class · March 1, 1968
- FRANKLIN CHARLES ARMENTOSpecialist Four · March 15, 1968
- EUCLIDES RIVERASergeant · January 27, 1969
- JAMES PAUL HANLONSergeant · February 27, 1969
- JOHN KENNETH KRUEGERLance Corporal · May 8, 1969
- GREGORY MITCHELL KUTKOWSKIWarrant Officer 1 · October 18, 1970
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.
