The WallVietnam Veterans Memorial · The Lake Norman Brief
An AC-47D “Spooky” gunship fires on a target at night over South Vietnam.
An AC-47D “Spooky” gunship fires on a target at night over South Vietnam. Photo: U.S. Air Force, public domain. Shown for the time and place, not a photograph of Howard Elmer Vanvliet.

The Wall › Panel 40W › New Jersey › Howard Elmer Vanvliet

HOWARD ELMER VANVLIET

Lieutenant Colonel · U.S. Air Force

October 4, 1928 – October 21, 1968

Service record

Howard Elmer Vanvliet, of Clifton, New Jersey, served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He died on October 21, 1968, in Darlac Province, South Vietnam, at age 40. His name is inscribed on Panel 40W, Line 16 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

On the Wall

Panel 40W · Line 16

Position of Panel 40W on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

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. Air Force
Rank
Lieutenant Colonel (LTCOL)
Service
Regular
Born
October 4, 1928
Home of record
Clifton, New Jersey (Passaic County)

Casualty

Date of death
October 21, 1968
Age
40
Province
Darlac
Country
South Vietnam
Casualty type
Non-hostile
Category
Accident
Circumstance
Aircraft Crash — crew

Context · from the records

What was happening

40 names on the Wall carry the date October 21, 1968; 23 of them were lost in Darlac Province. In October 1968, 821 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.

Also on Panel 40W, Line 16

From Clifton

All 16 names from Clifton →

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.