The Wall › Panel 5W › Illinois › Howard Wayne Gipson
HOWARD WAYNE GIPSON
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
July 4, 1952 – January 5, 1971
Service recordHoward Wayne Gipson, of Bethalto, Illinois, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on January 5, 1971, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 18. His name is inscribed on Panel 5W, Line 26 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 5W · Line 26
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 Four (SP4)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Light Wheel Vehicle Mechanic (63B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- July 4, 1952
- Home of record
- Bethalto, Illinois (Madison County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 5, 1971
- Age
- 18
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Other Accident
Context · from the records
What was happening
13 names on the Wall carry the date January 5, 1971; two of them were lost in Thừa Thiên Province. In January 1971, 259 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 20 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 5W, Line 26
- DENNIS LEE BUTLERCorporal · January 5, 1971
- WINSTON BUTLER JRStaff Sergeant · January 5, 1971
- DONALD MARTIN CRAMERChief Warrant Officer 2 · January 5, 1971
- RAYMOND R ENYEART JRSpecialist Five · January 5, 1971
Same unit, same day
- DONALD MARTIN CRAMERChief Warrant Officer 2 · Panel 5W, Line 26
- RONNIE VAGO ROGERSSpecialist Four · Panel 5W, Line 28
From Bethalto
- TOMMY NEAL MILLERCorporal · February 25, 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.