The Wall › Panel 43E › Iowa › John B Shank
JOHN B SHANK
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
June 12, 1948 – March 6, 1968
Service recordJohn B Shank, of Des Moines, Iowa, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on March 6, 1968, in Long Khanh Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 43E, Line 34 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 43E · Line 34
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
- Specialist Four (SP4)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Aircraft Maintenance Apprentice (67A)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 11 ARMORED CAV
- Born
- June 12, 1948
- Home of record
- Des Moines, Iowa (Polk County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 6, 1968
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Long Khanh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
140 names on the Wall carry the date March 6, 1968; four of them were lost in Long Khanh Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “11 ARMORED CAV”, his unit in the record, lost 19 of its members that month.
He died in Long Khanh 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 43E, Line 34
- WILLIAM HENRY SEWARDMajor · March 6, 1968
- GREGORY RANDALL SHAMBAUGHCorporal · March 6, 1968
- ARTHUR DAVID SHELTONPlatoon Sergeant · March 6, 1968
- GEORGE WALTER SKAKELSergeant · March 6, 1968
Same unit, same day
- CHARLES HENRY BATOZYNSKIPrivate First Class · Panel 43E, Line 13
- JERRY ALLEN BEATTYSpecialist Four · Panel 43E, Line 13
- FLOYD MCFADDENSpecialist Four · Panel 43E, Line 28
- CLARENCE A ROUSSELL JRSecond Lieutenant · Panel 43E, Line 32
- GREGORY KENT WHITEHOUSECaptain · Panel 43E, Line 38
From Des Moines
- CONNIE LEROY CHANDLERSergeant · November 20, 1965
- HARRY RICHARD CRUMLEYCaptain · January 25, 1966
- WALTER BOYCE JOHNSONPrivate First Class · January 25, 1966
- MARSHALL MYRON HOLT JRCaptain · March 2, 1966
- STEPHEN PAUL ALSTEDPrivate First Class · March 4, 1966
- DENNIS ARNOLD MAYCaptain · April 29, 1966
- WILLIAM FREDRICK FREESTONEGunnery Sergeant · July 5, 1966
- JERRY LEE LEONARDISergeant First Class · July 10, 1966
- TERRY PATRICK SLOANPetty Officer First Class · November 9, 1966
- LOREN STEVEN REEVESSpecialist Four · November 11, 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.