The Wall › Panel 15W › California › John Wayne Roles
JOHN WAYNE ROLES
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
June 16, 1948 – November 29, 1969
Service recordJohn Wayne Roles, of Costa Mesa, California, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on November 29, 1969, in Long Khanh Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 15W, Line 8 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 15W · Line 8
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)
- 199 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- June 16, 1948
- Home of record
- Costa Mesa, California (Orange County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- November 29, 1969
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Long Khanh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
31 names on the Wall carry the date November 29, 1969; he was the only one lost in Long Khanh Province that day. In November 1969, 660 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 199th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 12 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 15W, Line 8
- DENNIS JOSEPH REARDONFirst Lieutenant · November 29, 1969
- JAMES RONALD SMITHSpecialist Four · November 29, 1969
- CLYDE EUGENE THOMASSpecialist Four · November 29, 1969
- LARRY ELLIOTT WATSONPrivate First Class · November 29, 1969
From Costa Mesa
- ERIC B SPEAKCorporal · February 15, 1967
- LOYD LINDAL MCBROOMSergeant · March 25, 1967
- CHARLES RICHARD LEELieutenant Commander · July 9, 1967
- JERRALD LEROY EDWARDSLance Corporal · September 2, 1967
- ROGER KIMO YAMANAKALance Corporal · March 4, 1968
- DAVID KING OMSTEADFirst Lieutenant · June 16, 1968
- LEONARD ZACHARY GURWITZLance Corporal · August 12, 1968
- JAMES ODIS SPAWCorporal · August 18, 1968
- MICHAEL ROBERT MANGANSpecialist Four · August 21, 1968
- ROGER LOUIS BROWNSpecialist Five · January 1, 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.