The Wall › Panel 37W › Rhode Island › John Knowles Koster
JOHN KNOWLES KOSTER
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
September 17, 1944 – December 8, 1968
Service recordJohn Knowles Koster, of West Warwick, Rhode Island, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on December 8, 1968, in Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam, at age 24. His name is inscribed on Panel 37W, Line 66 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 37W · Line 66
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
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 INF DIV
- Born
- September 17, 1944
- Home of record
- West Warwick, Rhode Island (Kent County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- December 8, 1968
- Age
- 24
- Province
- Binh Duong
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
59 names on the Wall carry the date December 8, 1968; six of them were lost in Bình Dương Province. In December 1968, 855 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 36 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 37W, Line 66
- MARVIN LEO HARTMANSergeant · December 8, 1968
- JOHN FRANCIS HIGGINSLance Corporal · December 8, 1968
- RICHARD DALE JAMESCorporal · December 8, 1968
- LARRY LEE MARSHPetty Officer Third Class · December 8, 1968
Same unit, same day
- MARTEE BRADLEY JRSpecialist Four · Panel 37W, Line 61
- MICHAEL E GIBISSpecialist Four · Panel 37W, Line 64
- PHILIP ALLEN TERRYSergeant · Panel 37W, Line 70
- ARTHUR WINDELL WOODPrivate First Class · Panel 37W, Line 72
From West Warwick
- THOMAS JOSEPH SZYDLOPrivate First Class · July 25, 1967
- FRANK MANUEL PACHECOSergeant First Class · August 31, 1967
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.