The Wall › Panel 42W › Ohio › John James Matuska
JOHN JAMES MATUSKA
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
December 13, 1948 – September 29, 1968
Service recordJohn James Matuska, of Garfield Heights, Ohio, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on September 29, 1968, in Long Khanh Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 42W, Line 42 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 42W · Line 42
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
- December 13, 1948
- Home of record
- Garfield Heights, Ohio (Cuyahoga County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- September 29, 1968
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Long Khanh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
34 names on the Wall carry the date September 29, 1968; four of them were lost in Long Khanh Province. In September 1968, 1,184 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “11 ARMORED CAV”, his unit in the record, lost 13 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 42W, Line 42
- MERLIN EUGENE MILLERPrivate First Class · September 29, 1968
- WALTER LEE MOORE JRCorporal · September 29, 1968
- WAYNE ELLSWORTH NEWBERRYCaptain · September 29, 1968
- ROBERT DONALD NOELLSCHSpecialist Five · September 29, 1968
Same unit, same day
- JERRY LEE HARRISWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 42W, Line 41
- WILLIAM PAUL ROLLINSWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 42W, Line 43
- BLAINE JOSEPH SHEPHERDSpecialist Five · Panel 42W, Line 43
From Garfield Heights
- DAVID WILLIAM HARTLEYPrivate First Class · May 5, 1966
- VAN CHAFFEEPrivate First Class · May 25, 1967
- WILLIAM RICHARD FRANCECorporal · September 6, 1967
- JAMES MICHAEL SUNDAYSpecialist Five · September 29, 1967
- DONALD RICHARD BRUCKNERSergeant · January 7, 1968
- WILLIAM JAMES PAPASergeant · May 5, 1968
- DANA LAWRENCE ZALESKIPrivate First Class · February 5, 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.