The Wall › Panel 39E › California › Howard Clayton Bell
HOWARD CLAYTON BELL
Sergeant · U.S. Army
December 31, 1946 – February 14, 1968
Service recordHoward Clayton Bell, of Long Beach, California, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on February 14, 1968, in Binh Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 39E, Line 28 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 39E · Line 28
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
- Combat Engineer (12B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- December 31, 1946
- Home of record
- Long Beach, California (Los Angeles County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 14, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Binh Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
71 names on the Wall carry the date February 14, 1968; two of them were lost in Bình Định Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 168 of its members that month.
He died in Bình Định 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 28
- TERRY WAYNE WILLIAMSPrivate First Class · February 13, 1968
- RAFTKEITH EROS BAKERPrivate First Class · February 14, 1968
- FRANK ARVIS BEAVERSSpecialist Five · February 14, 1968
- HAROLD L BEGODYSpecialist Four · February 14, 1968
Same unit, same day
- EDWARD LEE FRAZIERPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 32
- MICHAEL J KURELLACorporal · Panel 39E, Line 35
- LUTHER PAGE JRStaff Sergeant · Panel 39E, Line 36
From Long Beach
- PETER ANTHONY SEMMERPrivate First Class · February 11, 1965
- RICHARD GRAHAM ALLENPrivate First Class · March 4, 1966
- IVAN JOSEPH BROYLESSergeant · April 21, 1966
- RICHARD EYRE CROWELance Corporal · May 29, 1966
- FRANZ GERHARD PREDIGERSpecialist Four · June 30, 1966
- ANTHONY ROBERT BOSHPrivate First Class · September 7, 1966
- GERALD JOHNSONPrivate First Class · November 15, 1966
- MICHAEL PAUL MCCONAHAYPrivate First Class · November 23, 1966
- EDMOND SANMARCOSPrivate First Class · December 19, 1966
- MARSHAL LYNN HORTONSpecialist Four · December 25, 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.