The Wall › Panel 1W › New York › John Albert Spires
JOHN ALBERT SPIRES
Captain · U.S. Army
July 15, 1937 – July 22, 1972
Service recordJohn Albert Spires, of Bath, New York, served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. He died on July 22, 1972, in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, at age 35. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 58 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 58
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
- Captain (CPT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Parachutist, Infantry Unit Commander (71542)
- Unit (as recorded)
- SPECIAL FORCES
- Born
- July 15, 1937
- Home of record
- Bath, New York (Steuben County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- July 22, 1972
- Age
- 35
- Province
- Kontum
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
Five names on the Wall carry the date July 22, 1972; two of them were lost in Kon Tum Province. In July 1972, 53 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
Special Forces, his unit in the record, lost 2 of its members that month.
He died in Kon Tum Province while the Easter Offensive was under way. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched its largest offensive since 1968, attacking across the DMZ, toward An Lộc and into the Central Highlands. By then few U.S. ground troops remained; American advisers and air power fought alongside the South Vietnamese.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 1W, Line 58
- LEE WAYNE BILLINGSLYCaptain · July 22, 1972
- JAMES RICHARD LAYTONSergeant · July 22, 1972
- GLENN EDWARD NOWAKOWSKIWarrant Officer 1 · July 22, 1972
- STEPHEN HOWARD GRAVROCKFirst Lieutenant · July 23, 1972
Same unit, same day
- JAMES RICHARD LAYTONSergeant · Panel 1W, Line 58
From Bath
- RICHARD ROBERT MILESPrivate · September 14, 1966
- RAYMOND LEE BROWNPrivate First Class · November 20, 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.