The Wall › Panel 8W › Texas › James Christopher Becker
JAMES CHRISTOPHER BECKER
First Lieutenant · U.S. Army
April 18, 1944 – August 15, 1970
Service recordJames Christopher Becker, of Palestine, Texas, served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He died on August 15, 1970, in Laos, at age 26. His name is inscribed on Panel 8W, Line 113 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 8W · Line 113
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
- First Lieutenant (1LT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Air Observation Pilot (1981)
- Unit (as recorded)
- AMERICAL DIV
- Born
- April 18, 1944
- Home of record
- Palestine, Texas (Anderson County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- August 15, 1970
- Age
- 26
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
14 names on the Wall carry the date August 15, 1970. In August 1970, 452 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The Americal Division, his unit in the record, lost 18 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 8W, Line 113
- ORLANDO TORRES-OYOLACorporal · August 14, 1970
- BRUCE DAVID WAGNERCorporal · August 14, 1970
- WARREN CHARLES ANDERSONPrivate First Class · August 15, 1970
- WILSON PAUL BAILEYSpecialist Four · August 15, 1970
Same unit, same day
- HARRY EDWARD CHESSERSpecialist Five · Panel 8W, Line 114
- PETER ALDEN SCHMIDTSpecialist Four · Panel 8W, Line 115
From Palestine
- THOMAS DARRELL WILLIAMSONSpecialist Four · January 29, 1966
- TONIE LEE ENGLAND JRCaptain · March 21, 1967
- EARL DAWSON LAWRENCEPrivate First Class · November 8, 1967
- AMON FRANKLIN MOORE JRPetty Officer Third Class · February 17, 1968
- ROGER ALLEN THOMPSONLance Corporal · March 1, 1968
- DONALD RAY JOHNSONPrivate First Class · April 30, 1968
- JAMES TUCKER STOVALLSecond Lieutenant · November 7, 1968
- JAMES AUBREY HULSEYPrivate First Class · April 13, 1970
- TERRELL LEE RAWLINSONChief Warrant Officer 2 · August 25, 1970
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.