The Wall › Panel 39E › California › John Dee Mendoza
JOHN DEE MENDOZA
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
March 1, 1947 – February 12, 1968
Service recordJohn Dee Mendoza, of South Gate, California, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on February 12, 1968, in Quang Ngai Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 39E, Line 9 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 39E · Line 9
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
- Armor Reconnaissance Specialist (11D)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 11 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- March 1, 1947
- Home of record
- South Gate, California (Los Angeles County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 12, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Quang Ngai
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
73 names on the Wall carry the date February 12, 1968; he was the only one lost in Quảng Ngãi Province that day. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 11th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 25 of its members that month.
He died in Quảng Ngãi 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 39E, Line 9
- CALVIN RONALD MACKAYSpecialist Four · February 12, 1968
- JESSE MECHEMFirst Lieutenant · February 12, 1968
- ARNOLD EDWARD MELISHSpecialist Four · February 12, 1968
- DENNIS DALE NAGELKIRKPrivate First Class · February 12, 1968
Same unit, same day
- WILLIAM JAMES WEBERSpecialist Four · Panel 39E, Line 15
From South Gate
- DONALD WESLEY WALTERSSpecialist Four · March 19, 1967
- GARY DEAN MILLERSergeant · March 30, 1967
- RONNIE JOE CHARLESStaff Sergeant · March 25, 1968
- THOMAS KEITH BEAMONSpecialist Four · April 23, 1968
- DAVID ALLEN WILSONPetty Officer First Class · January 14, 1969
- TERRY MIKEL CONWAYPrivate · October 12, 1970
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.