The Wall › Panel 45E › Ohio › James Alan Patton
JAMES ALAN PATTON
Sergeant · U.S. Army
August 26, 1947 – March 20, 1968
Service recordJames Alan Patton, of Akron, Ohio, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on March 20, 1968, in Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 45E, Line 42 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 45E · Line 42
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 (SGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- August 26, 1947
- Home of record
- Akron, Ohio (Summit County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 20, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Binh Duong
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
41 names on the Wall carry the date March 20, 1968; three of them were lost in Bình Dương Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 208 of its members that month.
He died in Bình Dương 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 45E, Line 42
- GARY DEWAYNE REEDSergeant · March 20, 1968
- ALAN RICHARD ROBERTSSpecialist Four · March 20, 1968
- MARION NELSON SALTZPrivate First Class · March 20, 1968
- FRANKLIN A SAPPINGFIELDSpecialist Four · March 20, 1968
Same unit, same day
- DENNIS RICHARD CANTLERCorporal · Panel 45E, Line 38
- DAVID ALLEN MADDUXCorporal · Panel 45E, Line 41
- FRANKLIN A SAPPINGFIELDSpecialist Four · Panel 45E, Line 42
From Akron
- PAUL R HELTSLEY IIIPrivate First Class · July 17, 1964
- ANDREW MILLARD KEACaptain · May 16, 1965
- GEORGE HOWARD FRAZEE JRSergeant · May 28, 1965
- FRANK WILLARD WILSONCorporal · June 6, 1965
- ROBERT DUANE STEPANOVSpecialist Four · July 5, 1965
- RICHARD WEBSTERSpecialist Four · January 29, 1966
- WAYNE HULEN ROWLANDPrivate First Class · April 17, 1966
- RICHARD DOUGLAS HOGARTHFirst Lieutenant · May 6, 1966
- JOSEPH STANLEY VESELY JRSpecialist Four · June 19, 1966
- JAMES QUINEL AYDLETTFirst Lieutenant · July 11, 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.