The Wall › Panel 32W › Illinois › James William Bell
JAMES WILLIAM BELL
Private First Class · U.S. Marine Corps
February 24, 1950 – February 17, 1969
Service recordJames William Bell, of Chicago, Illinois, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on February 17, 1969, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, at age 18. His name is inscribed on Panel 32W, Line 47 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 32W · Line 47
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. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Machinegunner (0331)
- Born
- February 24, 1950
- Home of record
- Chicago, Illinois (Cook County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 17, 1969
- Age
- 18
- Province
- Quang Tri
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
23 names on the Wall carry the date February 17, 1969; 12 of them were lost in Quảng Trị Province. In February 1969, 1,304 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Quảng Trị Province while Operation Dewey Canyon was under way. In Operation Dewey Canyon (22 January–18 March 1969) the 9th Marines struck North Vietnamese base areas in the Đa Krông and A Shau valleys, the last major Marine offensive of the war. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
Read the history
Also on Panel 32W, Line 47
- NORMAND PAUL PERRONWarrant Officer 1 · February 16, 1969
- HAROLD J VANWINKLE JRSpecialist Four · February 16, 1969
- ROBERT WALTER WHITNEYPrivate First Class · February 16, 1969
- WILLIAM MICHAEL WOGANSergeant First Class · February 16, 1969
From Chicago
- MELVIN LESTER WATERSPrivate · February 10, 1965
- WILLIAM RALPH FUHRMANPetty Officer Third Class · April 23, 1965
- RAYMOND LEON HORNCorporal · May 1, 1965
- ARTHUR C JEPSON JRCaptain · May 16, 1965
- DONALD CLAY DEDMONStaff Sergeant · June 10, 1965
- ROGER PELIKANLance Corporal · July 17, 1965
- HARRY COHENTechnical Sergeant · July 19, 1969
- CURTIS LOCKHARTPrivate First Class · July 30, 1965
- EDWARD KOPECPrivate First Class · August 18, 1965
- JAMES LEO WHITELance Corporal · August 19, 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.