The Wall › Panel 14W › Illinois › Kent Douglas Matthews
KENT DOUGLAS MATTHEWS
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
August 7, 1949 – January 18, 1970
Service recordKent Douglas Matthews, of Clinton, Illinois, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on January 18, 1970, in Long An Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 14W, Line 42 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 14W · Line 42
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)
- 9 INF DIV
- Born
- August 7, 1949
- Home of record
- Clinton, Illinois (De Witt County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 18, 1970
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Long An
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
18 names on the Wall carry the date January 18, 1970; three of them were lost in Long An Province. In January 1970, 529 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 9th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 10 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 14W, Line 42
- FRANK BLASPrivate First Class · January 18, 1970
- STEVEN FRANK EDWARDSSergeant · January 18, 1970
- RICHARD EDWARD FORDSergeant · January 18, 1970
- DAVID ALLEN FOWLERPrivate First Class · January 18, 1970
Same unit, same day
- BILLY GERALD HARRISONCorporal · Panel 14W, Line 43
- ROBERT LEE WILLETTSergeant · Panel 14W, Line 45
From Clinton
- GARY EDWARD REYNOLDSPrivate First Class · February 11, 1969
- TOMMY GENE ELLIOTTPrivate First Class · August 23, 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.