The Wall › Panel 43E › Texas › Donald Reece Irby
DONALD REECE IRBY
Private First Class · U.S. Army
September 4, 1949 – March 9, 1968
Service recordDonald Reece Irby, of Houston, Texas, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on March 9, 1968, in Quang Ngai Province, South Vietnam, at age 18. His name is inscribed on Panel 43E, Line 67 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 43E · Line 67
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
- Regular
- Occupation
- Central Office Switchboard Operator (72C)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 11 ARMORED CAV
- Born
- September 4, 1949
- Home of record
- Houston, Texas (Harris County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 9, 1968
- Age
- 18
- Province
- Quang Ngai
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
Context · from the records
What was happening
45 names on the Wall carry the date March 9, 1968; four of them were lost in Quảng Ngãi Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “11 ARMORED CAV”, his unit in the record, lost 19 of its members that month.
He died in Quảng Ngãi 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 43E, Line 67
- FRANCIS R HITTINGER JRLieutenant Colonel · March 9, 1968
- JOHN EDWARD HOODSpecialist Four · March 9, 1968
- DALE RODNEY KARPENSKESergeant First Class · March 9, 1968
- DANIEL LEE KINNARDSpecialist Four · March 9, 1968
Same unit, same day
- SANTIAGO TORRES JRPrivate First Class · Panel 44E, Line 2
- RICHARD ELSWORTH VINCENTSergeant · Panel 44E, Line 3
From Houston
- JOSEPH MICHAEL FAHEY JRCaptain · February 11, 1962
- JOHN F SHAUGHNESSY JRCaptain · February 3, 1963
- RICHARD DALE HILLAirman Second Class · December 6, 1963
- HUGHIE DARELL ADAMSMajor · January 7, 1964
- ALBERT LAWRENCE SHIMEKPrivate First Class · April 10, 1964
- BYRON CLARK STONECaptain · August 20, 1964
- JAMES EDWARD HAVEMANNWarrant Officer 1 · October 7, 1964
- ROBERT GRAHAM BELLMajor · May 16, 1965
- LEROY ANTHONY BOURGEOISPrivate First Class · June 18, 1965
- ROBERT FILMORE BATSONSergeant · August 18, 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.