The Wall › Panel 38E › Louisiana › Donald Reginald Colson
DONALD REGINALD COLSON
Sergeant · U.S. Army
January 3, 1944 – February 11, 1968
Service recordDonald Reginald Colson, of Monroe, Louisiana, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on February 11, 1968, in Gia Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 24. His name is inscribed on Panel 38E, Line 76 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 38E · Line 76
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
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 199 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- January 3, 1944
- Home of record
- Monroe, Louisiana
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 11, 1968
- Age
- 24
- Province
- Gia Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
44 names on the Wall carry the date February 11, 1968; seven of them were lost in Gia Dinh Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 199th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 42 of its members that month.
He died in Gia Dinh 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 38E, Line 76
- ADALBERTO CACERESSpecialist Four · February 11, 1968
- JAMES PEYTON CROOKPrivate First Class · February 11, 1968
- MONZIE DURREL EDMONDSPrivate First Class · February 11, 1968
- THOMAS GALE GAINESLance Corporal · February 11, 1968
Same unit, same day
- RONALD S BAGENSpecialist Five · Panel 38E, Line 75
- JOSEPH PERRY BOWLINGSergeant · Panel 38E, Line 75
- ADALBERTO CACERESSpecialist Four · Panel 38E, Line 76
- GEORGE ELOY TAFOYAPrivate First Class · Panel 38E, Line 82
- JAMES E TINSLEYSpecialist Four · Panel 38E, Line 82
- GARRY FRANCIS VICKERYSpecialist Four · Panel 38E, Line 82
- FLOYD VOYLESPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 1
From Monroe
- RONNIE JOE HERRINGTONCorporal · January 19, 1966
- HOSEA DENNIS ADAMSpecialist Four · May 18, 1966
- JAMES ODAS MCKINNEYPrivate First Class · June 16, 1966
- CLAIBORNE LAVELLE SHAWLance Corporal · September 17, 1966
- PETER LITTLELance Corporal · November 16, 1966
- TROY BEALINAirman First Class · November 26, 1966
- JOHN EDWARD CARMACKSpecialist Four · May 12, 1967
- BOBBY GAYLE STANFORDPrivate · May 12, 1967
- HARRIS VONZELL DAVISSpecialist Four · June 7, 1967
- DONALD JACK CROCKERMajor · July 15, 1967
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.