The Wall › Panel 12W › Iowa › John Wilbur Sams JR
JOHN WILBUR SAMS JR
Private First Class · U.S. Army
October 15, 1948 – March 22, 1970
Service recordJohn Wilbur Sams JR, of Knoxville, Iowa, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on March 22, 1970, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 12W, Line 34 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 12W · Line 34
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
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- October 15, 1948
- Home of record
- Knoxville, Iowa (Marion County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 22, 1970
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Artillery/Mortar/Rocket
Context · from the records
What was happening
Eight names on the Wall carry the date March 22, 1970; he was the only one lost in Thừa Thiên Province that day. In March 1970, 625 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 77 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 12W, Line 34
- KERMIT W HOLLAND JRPrivate First Class · March 22, 1970
- EHRHARD HANS KONRAD POHLSergeant · March 22, 1970
- FRANK HOUSTON ADAMSCaptain · March 23, 1970
- RONNIE EDWARDS ASHSergeant · March 23, 1970
From Knoxville
- THOMAS EDWARD BLUBAUGHLance Corporal · July 11, 1965
- HAROLD DEAN MONEYSMITHStaff Sergeant · July 27, 1967
- ROBERT IVAN KLOOTWYKLance Corporal · August 8, 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.