The Wall › Panel 42E › Texas › John Willard Vansant
JOHN WILLARD VANSANT
Corporal · U.S. Marine Corps
February 8, 1948 – March 3, 1968
Service recordJohn Willard Vansant, of Houston, Texas, served as a Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on March 3, 1968, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 42E, Line 58 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 42E · Line 58
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. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Corporal (CPL)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Rifleman (0311)
- Unit (as recorded)
- A CO 1 BN 1 MAR 1 MARDIV
- Born
- February 8, 1948
- Home of record
- Houston, Texas (Harris County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 3, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
65 names on the Wall carry the date March 3, 1968; eight of them were lost in Thừa Thiên Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Thừa Thiên Province while the Tet Offensive was under way. Beginning on the night of 30–31 January 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces attacked more than 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. February 1968 was the deadliest month of the war for Americans.
Also on Panel 42E, Line 58
- KENNETH LINDLE OLDHAMPrivate First Class · March 3, 1968
- GEORGE T SWYMERSpecialist Four · March 3, 1968
- DENNIS HUGH THOMPSONSpecialist Four · March 3, 1968
- EARNEST SHELBY WARDPrivate First Class · March 3, 1968
From Houston
- JOSEPH MICHAEL FAHEY JRCaptain · February 11, 1962
- JOHN F SHAUGHNESSY JRCaptain · February 3, 1963
- RICHARD DALE HILLAirman Second Class · December 6, 1963
- HUGHIE DARELL ADAMSMajor · January 7, 1964
- ALBERT LAWRENCE SHIMEKPrivate First Class · April 10, 1964
- BYRON CLARK STONECaptain · August 20, 1964
- JAMES EDWARD HAVEMANNWarrant Officer 1 · October 7, 1964
- ROBERT GRAHAM BELLMajor · May 16, 1965
- LEROY ANTHONY BOURGEOISPrivate First Class · June 18, 1965
- ROBERT FILMORE BATSONSergeant · August 18, 1965
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.