The Wall › Panel 40E › Georgia › James Larry West
JAMES LARRY WEST
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
April 12, 1947 – February 20, 1968
Service recordJames Larry West, of Smyrna, Georgia, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on February 20, 1968, in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 40E, Line 49 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 40E · Line 49
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
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- April 12, 1947
- Home of record
- Smyrna, Georgia (Cobb County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 20, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Kontum
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
76 names on the Wall carry the date February 20, 1968; he was the only one lost in Kon Tum Province that day. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Aviation Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 61 of its members that month.
He died in Kon Tum 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 40E, Line 49
- RONALD MICHAEL URBANSKISpecialist Four · February 20, 1968
- DAVID N VALERIOSpecialist Four · February 20, 1968
- WALTER EARL VONDERCHEKSpecialist Four · February 20, 1968
- ALBERT CLARENCE WOODS JRSergeant · February 20, 1968
Same unit, same day
- LAUNEY E KINGSpecialist Five · Panel 40E, Line 42
From Smyrna
- TROY DAVID PAYNE JRCorporal · April 26, 1967
- PAUL EDWARD KELLY JRPrivate First Class · June 17, 1967
- ROBERT WAYNE WOODPetty Officer Third Class · July 21, 1967
- GARY WILLIAM PAINTERPrivate First Class · February 28, 1968
- TERRY LEE MULKEYPrivate First Class · June 5, 1968
- CHARLES DANIEL SMITHLance Corporal · June 15, 1968
- FRED BUFFINGTONLance Corporal · June 30, 1968
- WILBUR LAWRENCE MILAM IIIPrivate First Class · February 10, 1969
- RONALD HERBERT HOWARDPrivate First Class · March 16, 1969
- MICHAEL ROBERT GLENNSpecialist Four · February 11, 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.