The Wall › Panel 36E › Texas › James Mathew Vrba JR
JAMES MATHEW VRBA JR
Major · U.S. Army
November 5, 1936 – January 31, 1968
Service recordJames Mathew Vrba JR, of Houston, Texas, served as a Major in the U.S. Army. He died on January 31, 1968, in Vinh Long Province, South Vietnam, at age 31. His name is inscribed on Panel 36E, Line 41 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 36E · Line 41
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
- Major (MAJ)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Aircraft Maintenance Officer (4823)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- November 5, 1936
- Home of record
- Houston, Texas (Harris County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 31, 1968
- Age
- 31
- Province
- Vinh Long
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
246 names on the Wall carry the date January 31, 1968; eight of them were lost in Vinh Long Province. In January 1968, 1,546 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Aviation Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 33 of its members that month.
He died in Vinh Long 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 36E, Line 41
- LAWRENCE NORBART STANGELConstructionman · January 31, 1968
- JOSE GALENO VIRUETPrivate First Class · January 31, 1968
- JAMES EDWARD WALSHCorporal · January 31, 1968
- JOHN DOUGLAS WARD JRPrivate First Class · January 31, 1968
Same unit, same day
- ROGER SLETTEN CAMERONWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 36E, Line 1
- DWIGHT A DEDRICKWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 36E, Line 5
- WILLIAM BRADLEY DUNCANWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 36E, Line 7
- AUBREY GOFF JRSergeant · Panel 36E, Line 10
- FRED KAWAILANI MAS HATADASpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 13
- KENNETH EUGENE HOTCHKISSPrivate First Class · Panel 36E, Line 16
- THOMAS WOODROW MOORESpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 25
- DONALD LAMAR SMITHSergeant · Panel 36E, Line 36
- BERNARD DAVID THOMPSON JRLieutenant Colonel · Panel 36E, Line 39
- CHARLES AUGUSTUS YEOMANSPrivate First Class · Panel 36E, Line 44
From Houston
- JOSEPH MICHAEL FAHEY JRCaptain · February 11, 1962
- JOHN F SHAUGHNESSY JRCaptain · February 3, 1963
- RICHARD DALE HILLAirman Second Class · December 6, 1963
- HUGHIE DARELL ADAMSMajor · January 7, 1964
- ALBERT LAWRENCE SHIMEKPrivate First Class · April 10, 1964
- BYRON CLARK STONECaptain · August 20, 1964
- JAMES EDWARD HAVEMANNWarrant Officer 1 · October 7, 1964
- ROBERT GRAHAM BELLMajor · May 16, 1965
- LEROY ANTHONY BOURGEOISPrivate First Class · June 18, 1965
- ROBERT FILMORE BATSONSergeant · August 18, 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.