The Wall › Panel 5W › Kentucky › John William Bruin
JOHN WILLIAM BRUIN
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
May 2, 1951 – February 23, 1971
Service recordJohn William Bruin, of Georgetown, Kentucky, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on February 23, 1971, in Laos, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 5W, Line 132 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 5W · Line 132
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
- Regular
- Occupation
- Aircraft Maintenance Apprentice (67A)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 173 AVN CO 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- May 2, 1951
- Home of record
- Georgetown, Kentucky (Scott County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 23, 1971
- Age
- 19
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
26 names on the Wall carry the date February 23, 1971. In February 1971, 387 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “173 AVN CO 1 AVN BDE”, his unit in the record, lost 7 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while Operation Lam Son 719 was under way. In Lam Son 719 (February–March 1971), South Vietnamese troops drove into Laos to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail, carried and supported by U.S. helicopters and aircraft; more than 100 U.S. helicopters were lost.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 5W, Line 132
- JAMES EUGENE BARTONSpecialist Five · February 23, 1971
- DOUGLAS JAY CRAWFORDPrivate First Class · February 23, 1971
- LARRY GILBERT DAHLSpecialist Four · February 23, 1971
- RANDOLPH BURNS MCKELLIPSSergeant · February 23, 1971
Same unit, same day
- TERRANCE AKI OGATASpecialist Four · Panel 5W, Line 133
- CHARLES RAYMOND HAUSHERRSpecialist Four · Panel 5W, Line 134
- DENNIS CLAUDE FARRISFirst Lieutenant · Panel 5W, Line 135
- JAMES ALLEN MINERChief Warrant Officer 2 · Panel 5W, Line 135
- ROY YASUSHI SHINKAWAWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 4W, Line 1
- TERRY MAXWELL USHERFirst Lieutenant · Panel 4W, Line 1
From Georgetown
- CHARLES FRANKLIN ALLEN IICaptain · October 4, 1965
- ROGER THOMAS BURROWSLance Corporal · June 10, 1968
- EVERETTE ROLAND BAILEYCorporal · October 24, 1968
- HENRY ONEIL WILHOITEFirst Lieutenant · July 18, 1969
- LEO TARLTON THOMAS JRCaptain · December 19, 1971
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.