The Wall › Panel 55E › Arizona › John Leslie Downing
JOHN LESLIE DOWNING
Private First Class · U.S. Army
January 3, 1949 – May 5, 1968
Service recordJohn Leslie Downing, of Phoenix, Arizona, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on May 5, 1968, in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 55E, Line 9 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 55E · 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
Did you know him? Family members and friends are invited to share a photograph or a memory. Nothing is posted until it has been reviewed.
Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 SIGNAL BDE
- Born
- January 3, 1949
- Home of record
- Phoenix, Arizona (Maricopa County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 5, 1968
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Kontum
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
189 names on the Wall carry the date May 5, 1968; nine of them were lost in Kon Tum Province. In May 1968, 2,418 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “1 SIGNAL BDE”, his unit in the record, lost 15 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 55E, Line 9
- RAYMOND LEE COOKCorporal · May 5, 1968
- DOUGLAS JOSEPH CRADEURSergeant · May 5, 1968
- CORTLAND ELLIS DENNISONCorporal · May 5, 1968
- JIMMIE ALAN DOLENCorporal · May 5, 1968
Same unit, same day
- HAROLD THOMAS HENESYSpecialist Four · Panel 55E, Line 16
- LARRY DALE WILLIAMSPrivate First Class · Panel 55E, Line 36
From Phoenix
- DURWARD DEAN GOSNEYMajor · October 7, 1964
- CHARLES ALVA DALEMajor · June 9, 1965
- WILBURN DANIEL FELKINSCorporal · July 30, 1965
- LEE E ANDERSONSergeant · September 19, 1965
- DERRELL BLACKBUR JEFFORDSColonel · December 24, 1965
- JOHNNY HOWARD GODFREYCaptain · January 11, 1966
- GEORGE A HOAGLAND IIIStaff Sergeant · January 29, 1966
- JACK LANDEN HIMESPrivate First Class · February 26, 1966
- ROY JOHN HIGGINS JRCorporal · March 5, 1966
- DARRELL LEE JOHNSONPrivate First Class · March 5, 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.
