The Wall › Panel 36E › Puerto Rico › Joel Humberto Gonzalez-Velez
JOEL HUMBERTO GONZALEZ-VELEZ
Private First Class · U.S. Army
March 27, 1946 – February 2, 1968
Service recordJoel Humberto Gonzalez-Velez, of San Sebastian, Puerto Rico, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on February 2, 1968, in Binh Long Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 36E, Line 72 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 36E · Line 72
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)
- 1 INF DIV
- Born
- March 27, 1946
- Home of record
- San Sebastian, Puerto Rico (San Sebastian County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 2, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Binh Long
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
130 names on the Wall carry the date February 2, 1968; five of them were lost in Binh Long Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 125 of its members that month.
He died in Binh 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 72
- RICHARD EDWARD GIDEONSpecialist Four · February 2, 1968
- JAN ROYCE GILLHAMPrivate First Class · February 2, 1968
- KENNETH EDWARD GOLDENSecond Lieutenant · February 2, 1968
- JAMES EDWARD GOSSELINPetty Officer Third Class · February 2, 1968
Same unit, same day
- GEORGE JOSEPH GOTTWALD JRSpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 73
- PETER HERMAN HEISSENBUTTELSpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 74
- WILLARD VERNON JOHNSONSpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 75
- RAYMOND EUGENE KRAMERPrivate First Class · Panel 36E, Line 76
- GARY JOSEPH LANDONSpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 77
- WILLIAM EARL LOZIERSecond Lieutenant · Panel 36E, Line 78
- CHARLES WASSEL PERMALOFFSpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 79
- HILBERTO ORTEGAPrivate First Class · Panel 36E, Line 80
- WILMER POTTSCorporal · Panel 36E, Line 82
- DANNY RAY NORTHCUTTSpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 85
- BERNARD STEVEN RYANSergeant First Class · Panel 36E, Line 85
- GAYLORD JAMES SEBENSPrivate First Class · Panel 36E, Line 85
- WILLIAM RANDAL TRUETTSpecialist Four · Panel 37E, Line 1
From San Sebastian
- DURAN MIGUEL DEJESUS VERAPrivate First Class · November 17, 1965
- JOSE MARTINEZ-SOTOPrivate First Class · September 19, 1966
- OMAR LEBRON-DOMENECHSpecialist Four · December 15, 1967
- RIGOBERTO TORRES-LOPEZSpecialist Four · June 16, 1968
- WILLIAM JIMENEZ-ACEVEDOSpecialist Five · October 11, 1971
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.