The Wall › Panel 14E › New York › James Benjamin Simmons
JAMES BENJAMIN SIMMONS
Private First Class · U.S. Army
October 1, 1946 – January 20, 1967
Service recordJames Benjamin Simmons, of New York, New York, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on January 20, 1967, in Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 14E, Line 59 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 14E · Line 59
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
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 25 INF DIV
- Born
- October 1, 1946
- Home of record
- New York, New York (Kings County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 20, 1967
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Binh Duong
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
28 names on the Wall carry the date January 20, 1967; three of them were lost in Bình Dương Province. In January 1967, 638 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 25th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 79 of its members that month.
He died in Bình Dương Province while Operation Cedar Falls was under way. Operation Cedar Falls (8–26 January 1967) sent some 30,000 U.S. and South Vietnamese troops into the “Iron Triangle” northwest of Saigon to destroy Viet Cong base areas and tunnels. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
Also on Panel 14E, Line 59
- CLYDE HAROLD OBRIENStaff Sergeant · January 20, 1967
- HARRY DON RASHPrivate First Class · January 20, 1967
- HENRY EARL ROBBINSPrivate First Class · January 20, 1967
- MORGAN ELBERT SAVAGESpecialist Five · January 20, 1967
Same unit, same day
- GARY STEPHEN EDWARDSSpecialist Four · Panel 14E, Line 54
- JULIAN MARTINEZ ALVAREZPrivate First Class · Panel 14E, Line 55
- WILLIAM LOUIS DAVISPrivate First Class · Panel 14E, Line 56
- JOHN LOREN HAYDENSpecialist Four · Panel 14E, Line 57
- RONALD LEROY KENTStaff Sergeant · Panel 14E, Line 57
- REGINALD WAYNE LYNCHPrivate First Class · Panel 14E, Line 57
- WILLIAM JAMES MACKPrivate First Class · Panel 14E, Line 58
- GEORGE WILLIAM MCGHEEPrivate First Class · Panel 14E, Line 58
- HENRY EARL ROBBINSPrivate First Class · Panel 14E, Line 59
- MORGAN ELBERT SAVAGESpecialist Five · Panel 14E, Line 59
From New York
- WALTER R MCCARTHY JRCaptain · June 16, 1962
- JOHN HOWARD MCCLEANCaptain · August 16, 1963
- DONALD ALLAN MOLLICONEFirst Lieutenant · December 20, 1963
- VINCENT JOSEPH HICKMANCaptain · January 14, 1964
- MARTIN STOCKFEDERPrivate First Class · July 15, 1964
- ROBERT GEORGE ARMSTRONGFirst Lieutenant · October 24, 1964
- DOMINICK SANSONESergeant First Class · December 10, 1964
- DONALD GILBERT COOKColonel · December 31, 1964
- TERENCE MEREDITH MURPHYLieutenant (junior grade) · April 9, 1965
- ROBERT CARL WISTRANDColonel · May 9, 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.