The Wall › Panel 41W › Michigan › James Andrew Sowa
JAMES ANDREW SOWA
Private First Class · U.S. Army
November 7, 1946 – October 12, 1968
Service recordJames Andrew Sowa, of Decatur, Michigan, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on October 12, 1968, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 41W, Line 54 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 41W · Line 54
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
Did you know him? Family members and friends are invited to share a photograph or a memory. Nothing is posted until it has been reviewed.
Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Pioneer (12A)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- November 7, 1946
- Home of record
- Decatur, Michigan (Van Buren County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- October 12, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Quang Tri
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — Passenger (MC)
Context · from the records
What was happening
28 names on the Wall carry the date October 12, 1968; four of them were lost in Quảng Trị Province. In October 1968, 821 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 46 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 41W, Line 54
- WILEY LOUIS MARTINLance Corporal · October 12, 1968
- LUIS FORERO SAAVEDRAPrivate First Class · October 12, 1968
- ROBERT HUERTA SANCHEZSergeant · October 12, 1968
- DAVID WILLIAM TARANTOSpecialist Four · October 12, 1968
Same unit, same day
- JAMES RICHARD CARROLLWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 41W, Line 51
- WAYNE MORRIS BELLChief Warrant Officer 2 · Panel 41W, Line 52
- HERBERT JAMES WISHERSpecialist Four · Panel 41W, Line 56
From Decatur
- CLARENCE FREDDIE GIPSONSpecialist Four · April 3, 1967
- RONALD CRAIG VLIEKSergeant · September 5, 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.