The Wall › Panel 39E › Kentucky › George Matthew Kihnley
GEORGE MATTHEW KIHNLEY
Staff Sergeant · U.S. Army
March 16, 1947 – February 17, 1968
Service recordGeorge Matthew Kihnley, of Louisville, Kentucky, served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on February 17, 1968, in Gia Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 39E, Line 73 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 39E · Line 73
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
- Staff Sergeant (SSG)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 199 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- March 16, 1947
- Home of record
- Louisville, Kentucky (Jefferson County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 17, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Gia Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
51 names on the Wall carry the date February 17, 1968; three 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 39E, Line 73
- THOMAS WALTER KLORANPrivate First Class · February 17, 1968
- JAMES STEPHEN KRAVITZLieutenant (junior grade) · February 17, 1968
- JOHN FREDERICK LEWISLance Corporal · February 17, 1968
- CARL CECIL LOWERYSergeant · February 17, 1968
Same unit, same day
- FRANCIS SCOTT BECHTOLDPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 69
- SAMUEL JOHN SANTANGELOPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 77
From Louisville
- FERGUS COLEMAN GROVES IICaptain · February 2, 1962
- ROBERT SHERMAN MOSIERSpecialist Five · February 10, 1965
- DON IRA WILLIAMSONColonel · October 24, 1964
- DONALD GORDON RADCLIFFMajor · August 18, 1965
- LEE ROY JAMESGunnery Sergeant · September 5, 1965
- JERRY DWAYNE UNDERWOODPrivate First Class · September 18, 1965
- GARY LOUIS DOWELLCorporal · October 27, 1965
- THOMAS EDWARD THAYER JRSergeant Major · November 8, 1965
- BOBBY LEE FAVORSSergeant · February 4, 1966
- KENNETH RUSHPrivate First Class · February 7, 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.