The Wall › Panel 2W › South Carolina › James Douglas Owens
JAMES DOUGLAS OWENS
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
December 21, 1950 – April 1, 1972
Service recordJames Douglas Owens, of Clinton, South Carolina, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on April 1, 1972, in Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 2W, Line 126 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 2W · Line 126
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
- Utility Helicopter Repairer (67N)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- December 21, 1950
- Home of record
- Clinton, South Carolina (Laurens County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 1, 1972
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Tay Ninh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
Four names on the Wall carry the date April 1, 1972; two of them were lost in Tây Ninh Province. In April 1972, 106 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 9 of its members that month.
He died in Tây Ninh Province while the Easter Offensive was under way. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched its largest offensive since 1968, attacking across the DMZ, toward An Lộc and into the Central Highlands. By then few U.S. ground troops remained; American advisers and air power fought alongside the South Vietnamese.
Also on Panel 2W, Line 126
- DALE WAYNE FARRISStaff Sergeant · March 31, 1972
- JAMES MUIR MCCRACKENSergeant First Class · March 31, 1972
- DAVID CHARLES BRUGGEMANFirst Lieutenant · April 1, 1972
- JOHN ANTHONY JELICHChief Warrant Officer 2 · April 1, 1972
Same unit, same day
- JOHN ANTHONY JELICHChief Warrant Officer 2 · Panel 2W, Line 126
From Clinton
- JOHN WALTER TEAGUEPrivate First Class · May 17, 1966
- ROY JAMES BLACKWELL JRSpecialist Four · November 19, 1967
- REGINALD ROCKEFEL JENKINSPrivate First Class · May 29, 1968
- LEON SHIRLEY MADDENStaff Sergeant · June 27, 1969
- ROBERT EARL KINGCorporal · July 9, 1969
- JOSEPH ONEIL MCGEEPrivate First Class · September 28, 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.