The Wall › Panel 42E › New York › James Rufus Mathis
JAMES RUFUS MATHIS
Private First Class · U.S. Army
September 3, 1941 – March 2, 1968
Service recordJames Rufus Mathis, of Buffalo, New York, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on March 2, 1968, in Gia Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 26. His name is inscribed on Panel 42E, Line 36 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 42E · Line 36
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
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 25 INF DIV
- Born
- September 3, 1941
- Home of record
- Buffalo, New York (Erie County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 2, 1968
- Age
- 26
- Province
- Gia Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
100 names on the Wall carry the date March 2, 1968; 48 of them were lost in Gia Dinh Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 25th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 188 of its members that month.
He died in Gia Dinh 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 42E, Line 36
- ROBERT WAYNE LUECKEFirst Lieutenant · March 2, 1968
- ROY ALAN MEIERPrivate First Class · March 2, 1968
- CHARLES EDWARD MELOTTPrivate First Class · March 2, 1968
- DAVID LAWRENCE MELTONPrivate First Class · March 2, 1968
Same unit, same day
- JOSE LUIS ALVAREZ-TAPIAPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 26
- GERALD LAWRENCE AVERYPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 27
- CHARLES EDWARD BONDSSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 27
- HARLAN RAY BRANDTSPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 28
- JERRY WALTER BYERSSergeant · Panel 42E, Line 28
- WILLIAM BRACE CAWLEY JRSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 29
- ALVIN LLOYD CAYSONSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 29
- NICHOLAS JOSEPH CUTINHASpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 30
- BRUCE ELIOT JRSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 30
- GARY VIRGIL FRAZIERPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 31
- RAYMOND LEROY GALLAGHERPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 32
- CAL DUAIN JOHNSONSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 34
- LAWRENCE JOHNSONPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 34
- JACK JOSEPH JORDAN JRPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 34
- LEE ROY LANIERSergeant · Panel 42E, Line 35
- CHARLIE FRANK LEEStaff Sergeant · Panel 42E, Line 35
- CHARLES EDWARD MELOTTPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 36
- LEONARD DAVID MOOREPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 37
- CHARLES GEORGE REHBERGERSergeant · Panel 42E, Line 37
- ROBERT JUNIOR MCGEEPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 38
- JAMES FRANCIS OLAUGHLINSecond Lieutenant · Panel 42E, Line 38
- ROY DONALD PAGEPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 38
- WILLIAM RASSANOSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 38
- THOMAS LEE MORKSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 39
From Buffalo
- RICHARD MARION SROKACaptain · July 13, 1964
- KENNETH DAVID STANKIEWICZLance Corporal · August 18, 1965
- THEODORE ROOSEVELT CHAMBLEYStaff Sergeant · October 16, 1965
- HENRY JOHN PAWLICK JRSpecialist Four · November 7, 1965
- THOMAS GEORGE HENSONSpecialist Four · November 12, 1965
- WILBUR CURRY JRStaff Sergeant · November 15, 1965
- RICHARD P CORSONPrivate First Class · March 4, 1966
- HENRY JAMES DOSTERCorporal · March 5, 1966
- DUANE KENNETH HEISERPrivate First Class · March 15, 1966
- MICHAEL KELLY MCGUIREAirman · February 16, 1966
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.