The Wall › Panel 35E › New York › Howard Franklin Coles JR
HOWARD FRANKLIN COLES JR
Second Lieutenant · U.S. Army
November 30, 1945 – January 26, 1968
Service recordHoward Franklin Coles JR, of Vestal, New York, served as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He died on January 26, 1968, in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, at age 22. His name is inscribed on Panel 35E, Line 39 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 35E · Line 39
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
- Second Lieutenant (2LT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Infantry Unit Commander (1542)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- November 30, 1945
- Home of record
- Vestal, New York (Broome County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 26, 1968
- Age
- 22
- Province
- Kontum
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
Context · from the records
What was happening
33 names on the Wall carry the date January 26, 1968; four of them were lost in Kon Tum Province. In January 1968, 1,546 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 4th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 78 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 35E, Line 39
- NORMAN EDWARD EIDSMOECaptain · January 26, 1968
- FREDERICK JOHN FALK JRLance Corporal · January 26, 1968
- TERRY DEAN FINCHCorporal · January 26, 1968
- HARRY SAMUEL FITEZ JRPrivate First Class · January 26, 1968
Same unit, same day
- ROBERT DON FAIRESSpecialist Four · Panel 35E, Line 38
- HARRY SAMUEL FITEZ JRPrivate First Class · Panel 35E, Line 39
- ROBERT ALFRED GATESPrivate First Class · Panel 35E, Line 40
From Vestal
- GARY LEE STROUSESergeant · July 10, 1968
- MICHAEL JOSEPH CAPRIOPetty Officer Third Class · July 26, 1969
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.