The Wall › Panel 14W › North Carolina › Joe Hearne Rufty
JOE HEARNE RUFTY
First Lieutenant · U.S. Army
February 23, 1945 – January 29, 1970
Service recordJoe Hearne Rufty, of Salisbury, North Carolina, served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He died on January 29, 1970, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 24. His name is inscribed on Panel 14W, Line 80 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 14W · Line 80
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
- First Lieutenant (1LT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Infantry Unit Commander (1542)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- February 23, 1945
- Home of record
- Salisbury, North Carolina (Rowan County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 29, 1970
- Age
- 24
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
17 names on the Wall carry the date January 29, 1970; he was the only one lost in Thừa Thiên Province that day. In January 1970, 529 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 43 of its members that month.
Read the history
Also on Panel 14W, Line 80
- WILBERT REEDCorporal · January 29, 1970
- ROY LEE STRINGERCorporal · January 29, 1970
- LAWRENCE O WASHINGTONStaff Sergeant · January 29, 1970
- WILLIAM ALLEN DIXONStaff Sergeant · January 30, 1970
From Salisbury
- ROBERT MAXWELL BROWN JRPrivate First Class · December 12, 1965
- EDWIN EVERTON MORGANChief Master Sergeant · March 13, 1966
- SCOTT TERRY WELBORNEPrivate First Class · April 5, 1966
- RONALD WAYNE LYERLYPrivate First Class · March 6, 1967
- KAY WILLIAM WRIGHTCorporal · July 4, 1967
- FRANCIS EDWARD HOWELance Corporal · July 16, 1967
- DONALD VANCE DAVISLieutenant Commander · July 25, 1967
- DOUGLAS RAY NOELPrivate First Class · July 31, 1967
- GEORGE FRANKLIN ANTONITISCorporal · December 3, 1967
- DANIEL GUESTChief Petty Officer · August 29, 1968
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.