The Wall › Panel 35E › New York › Howard Earl Button
HOWARD EARL BUTTON
Sergeant First Class · U.S. Army
March 22, 1934 – January 31, 1968
Service recordHoward Earl Button, of Buffalo, New York, served as a Sergeant First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on January 31, 1968, in Phuoc Long Province, South Vietnam, at age 33. His name is inscribed on Panel 35E, Line 89 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 35E · Line 89
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 First Class (SFC)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- March 22, 1934
- Home of record
- Buffalo, New York (Erie County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 31, 1968
- Age
- 33
- Province
- Phuoc Long
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Burns/Smoke Inhalation
Context · from the records
What was happening
246 names on the Wall carry the date January 31, 1968; he was the only one lost in Phuoc Long Province that day. In January 1968, 1,546 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 73 of its members that month.
He died in Phuoc Long 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 35E, Line 89
- LESTER EUGENE BROWNPrivate First Class · January 31, 1968
- ARCHIE BURNETTE JRStaff Sergeant · January 31, 1968
- WILLIAM LEON BUSBYFirst Lieutenant · January 31, 1968
- PETER MARK BUTLERSpecialist Four · January 31, 1968
Same unit, same day
- CLYDE B BRAUGHTON JRSergeant · Panel 35E, Line 88
- PATRICK CYRIL CARTNEYSpecialist Five · Panel 36E, Line 1
- ALFRED PATRICK L COFFROTHSergeant · Panel 36E, Line 3
- SAM HARRIS GALLOWAYSecond Lieutenant · Panel 36E, Line 9
- GIDEON PICHA JOHNSONSergeant First Class · Panel 36E, Line 18
- HELMUT GUSTAV LAKASZUSStaff Sergeant · Panel 36E, Line 20
- JAMES PERRY LANIERSpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 20
- JOSEPH VIETO MARRONESpecialist Five · Panel 36E, Line 24
- RUSSELL E MILBERRYPrivate First Class · Panel 36E, Line 25
- MICHAEL ALAN POGUEPrivate First Class · Panel 36E, Line 31
- JAMES STANCELL JRStaff Sergeant · Panel 36E, Line 38
- JAMES LEWIS WAGESSergeant First Class · Panel 36E, Line 38
- VERNON CHARLES WILDERSPINSpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 42
- STEVEN WILLIAM ZIEGLERStaff Sergeant · Panel 36E, Line 44
From Buffalo
- RICHARD MARION SROKACaptain · July 13, 1964
- KENNETH DAVID STANKIEWICZLance Corporal · August 18, 1965
- THEODORE ROOSEVELT CHAMBLEYStaff Sergeant · October 16, 1965
- HENRY JOHN PAWLICK JRSpecialist Four · November 7, 1965
- THOMAS GEORGE HENSONSpecialist Four · November 12, 1965
- WILBUR CURRY JRStaff Sergeant · November 15, 1965
- RICHARD P CORSONPrivate First Class · March 4, 1966
- HENRY JAMES DOSTERCorporal · March 5, 1966
- DUANE KENNETH HEISERPrivate First Class · March 15, 1966
- MICHAEL KELLY MCGUIREAirman · February 16, 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.