The Wall › Panel 55E › Ohio › Howard Joseph Spear
HOWARD JOSEPH SPEAR
Specialist Five · U.S. Army
March 19, 1949 – May 5, 1968
Service recordHoward Joseph Spear, of Columbus, Ohio, served as a Specialist Five in the U.S. Army. He died on May 5, 1968, in Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 55E, Line 31 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 55E · Line 31
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
- Specialist Five (SP5)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Clerk-Typist (71B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 INF DIV
- Born
- March 19, 1949
- Home of record
- Columbus, Ohio (Multiple County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 5, 1968
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Binh Duong
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
189 names on the Wall carry the date May 5, 1968; nine of them were lost in Bình Dương Province. In May 1968, 2,418 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 103 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 55E, Line 31
- TOMMY LOREN SHEHORNSpecialist Four · May 5, 1968
- WILLIAM CHARLES SHELDONSeaman · May 5, 1968
- WILLIAM THOMAS SMILEYPrivate First Class · May 5, 1968
- PAUL WESLEY SMITHChief Warrant Officer 2 · May 5, 1968
Same unit, same day
- MARTIN EARL BROPHYSpecialist Four · Panel 55E, Line 4
- RICHARD ALBERT BROWNStaff Sergeant · Panel 55E, Line 4
- JOSEPH GEORGE GILLPrivate First Class · Panel 55E, Line 13
- JUAN PATRICIO MARTINEZStaff Sergeant · Panel 55E, Line 22
- THOMAS ROBERT OUILLETTEPrivate First Class · Panel 55E, Line 25
- MIGUEL A RUVALCABA-LOPEZSpecialist Four · Panel 55E, Line 29
- WILLIAM EMERSON SHAFFERSpecialist Four · Panel 55E, Line 30
- LOUIS LEON SPEERPrivate First Class · Panel 55E, Line 32
From Columbus
- LAWRENCE CLAIR HAMMONDChief Warrant Officer 2 · January 11, 1963
- JOHN FREDRICK STONEBURNERMajor · December 9, 1964
- TOMMY JOE BELCHERSpecialist Four · February 10, 1965
- ANDREW JACOB HINDERMANPrivate First Class · September 11, 1965
- WILLIAM BISHOP WOLFLance Corporal · October 14, 1965
- DENNIS SMITHCorporal · October 30, 1965
- CHARLES THOMAS MOORE JRSpecialist Five · November 17, 1965
- KENNETH POLINGSpecialist Four · November 21, 1965
- MORRIS LEE BARGYCorporal · November 29, 1965
- MORRIS E JENKINSSpecialist Five · December 2, 1965
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.