The Wall › Panel 38E › North Carolina › James Richard Neal
JAMES RICHARD NEAL
Private First Class · U.S. Army
March 1, 1943 – February 8, 1968
Service recordJames Richard Neal, of Topton, North Carolina, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on February 8, 1968, in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, at age 24. His name is inscribed on Panel 38E, Line 35 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 38E · Line 35
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)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- March 1, 1943
- Home of record
- Topton, North Carolina (Cherokee County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 8, 1968
- Age
- 24
- Province
- Kontum
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
114 names on the Wall carry the date February 8, 1968; six of them were lost in Kon Tum Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 4th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 140 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.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 38E, Line 35
- ROY DEAN MCDANIELCorporal · February 8, 1968
- ALLEN MCKINLEYPrivate · February 8, 1968
- BERNARD B MCKINNEY JRStaff Sergeant · February 8, 1968
- DAVID LEE MCKINNEYSergeant · February 8, 1968
Same unit, same day
- JOHN BARBURYPrivate First Class · Panel 38E, Line 20
- JOSEPH B BOWMANSecond Lieutenant · Panel 38E, Line 21
- DOUGLASS J DENNISSpecialist Five · Panel 38E, Line 25
- LEON G GRESHAMERSecond Lieutenant · Panel 38E, Line 28
- WILLIAM FREDERICK HARRINGTONSpecialist Four · Panel 38E, Line 32
- SPENCER BYRD POWERS JRSecond Lieutenant · Panel 38E, Line 37
- LAWRENCE KAY TUTTLEPrivate First Class · Panel 38E, Line 41
- GREGORY CHARLES WEISNERPrivate First Class · Panel 38E, Line 41
From Topton
- VERNON TERRY COCHRANSpecialist Four · June 22, 1967
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.