The Wall › Panel 4W › Tennessee › John Elam JR
JOHN ELAM JR
Sergeant · U.S. Army
July 21, 1950 – March 15, 1971
Service recordJohn Elam JR, of Tiptonville, Tennessee, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on March 15, 1971, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 4W, Line 48 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 4W · Line 48
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
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- July 21, 1950
- Home of record
- Tiptonville, Tennessee (Lake County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 15, 1971
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Quang Tri
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
21 names on the Wall carry the date March 15, 1971; eight of them were lost in Quảng Trị Province. In March 1971, 429 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 77 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 4W, Line 48
- JAMES BINGENHEIMERSergeant · March 15, 1971
- FRANCIS MICHAEL CURRYPrivate First Class · March 15, 1971
- THOMAS ALBERT DELLWOFirst Lieutenant · March 15, 1971
- PATRICK DOUGLAS ERBWarrant Officer 1 · March 15, 1971
Same unit, same day
- JUAN ESPINOSACorporal · Panel 4W, Line 49
- JAMES CARLTON MULLINAX JRSergeant · Panel 4W, Line 51
From Tiptonville
- ROBERT DELL MERRELLSpecialist Four · February 24, 1966
- RAY DON JAMESPrivate · April 30, 1968
- WILLIAM EDMOND LEE HARTPrivate First Class · March 6, 1969
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.