The Wall › Panel 37E › Arizona › Earl Thomas Classen
EARL THOMAS CLASSEN
Private First Class · U.S. Army
December 4, 1946 – February 4, 1968
Service recordEarl Thomas Classen, of Phoenix, Arizona, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on February 4, 1968, in Pleiku Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 37E, Line 20 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 37E · Line 20
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
- General Vehicle Repairman (63C)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- December 4, 1946
- Home of record
- Phoenix, Arizona (Maricopa County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 4, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Pleiku
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Died of Wounds
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
68 names on the Wall carry the date February 4, 1968; two of them were lost in Pleiku Province. 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 Pleiku 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 37E, Line 20
- THOMAS JAMES CRAGHEAD JRPetty Officer Third Class · February 4, 1968
- ANDREW LEE DAWSONSergeant · February 4, 1968
- GARY MICHAEL DIAZCorporal · February 4, 1968
- JOHNNIE LEE DOUGLASPrivate First Class · February 4, 1968
Same unit, same day
- ROBERT E HOPKINSSergeant · Panel 37E, Line 23
- YAZZIE B TEN HUSKIESpecialist Four · Panel 37E, Line 23
- GARRY FRANK LAWRENCEPrivate First Class · Panel 37E, Line 24
From Phoenix
- DURWARD DEAN GOSNEYMajor · October 7, 1964
- CHARLES ALVA DALEMajor · June 9, 1965
- WILBURN DANIEL FELKINSCorporal · July 30, 1965
- LEE E ANDERSONSergeant · September 19, 1965
- DERRELL BLACKBUR JEFFORDSColonel · December 24, 1965
- JOHNNY HOWARD GODFREYCaptain · January 11, 1966
- GEORGE A HOAGLAND IIIStaff Sergeant · January 29, 1966
- JACK LANDEN HIMESPrivate First Class · February 26, 1966
- ROY JOHN HIGGINS JRCorporal · March 5, 1966
- DARRELL LEE JOHNSONPrivate First Class · March 5, 1966
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.