The Wall › Panel 1W › West Virginia › Franklin East
FRANKLIN EAST
First Sergeant · U.S. Army
February 25, 1932 – April 28, 1972
Service recordFranklin East, of Mccomas, West Virginia, served as a First Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on April 28, 1972, in Bien Hoa Province, South Vietnam, at age 40. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 9 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 9
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
- First Sergeant (1SG)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantry Senior Sergeant (11G)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- February 25, 1932
- Home of record
- Mccomas, West Virginia (Mercer County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 28, 1972
- Age
- 40
- Province
- Bien Hoa
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Illness
- Circumstance
- Infectious Disease
Context · from the records
What was happening
Four names on the Wall carry the date April 28, 1972; he was the only one lost in Bien Hoa Province that day. In April 1972, 106 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 9 of its members that month.
He died in Bien Hoa Province while the Easter Offensive was under way. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched its largest offensive since 1968, attacking across the DMZ, toward An Lộc and into the Central Highlands. By then few U.S. ground troops remained; American advisers and air power fought alongside the South Vietnamese.
Also on Panel 1W, Line 9
- FRANKLIN ZOLLICOFFERSpecialist Four · April 24, 1972
- WILLIAM ALLEN HAINES JRWarrant Officer 1 · April 28, 1972
- PAUL VAUGHAN MARTINDALECaptain · April 28, 1972
- PETER RICHARD MILLERSpecialist Four · May 1, 1972
From Mccomas
- DARRELL G MARTINSpecialist Four · May 21, 1968
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.