The Wall › Panel 45W › Pennsylvania › John Panak JR
JOHN PANAK JR
Staff Sergeant · U.S. Army
July 12, 1940 – August 31, 1968
Service recordJohn Panak JR, of Coal Center, Pennsylvania, served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on August 31, 1968, in South Vietnam, at age 28. His name is inscribed on Panel 45W, Line 16 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 45W · Line 16
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
- Staff Sergeant (SSG)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 5 INF DIV MECH
- Born
- July 12, 1940
- Home of record
- Coal Center, Pennsylvania (Washington County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- August 31, 1968
- Age
- 28
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Illness
- Circumstance
- Infectious Disease
Context · from the records
What was happening
29 names on the Wall carry the date August 31, 1968. In August 1968, 1,313 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “5 INF DIV MECH”, his unit in the record, lost 8 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 45W, Line 16
- DAVID LE ROY MCRAEStaff Sergeant · August 31, 1968
- MAGNUS CARL NIELSENPrivate First Class · August 31, 1968
- LARRY HART PATTERSONPrivate First Class · August 31, 1968
- ERNEST EUGENE SANVILLEPetty Officer Third Class · August 31, 1968
Same unit, same day
- ANTHONY MILLERCorporal · Panel 45W, Line 15
- KEITH LESLIE WILSONSergeant · Panel 45W, Line 17
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.