The Wall › Panel 16E › Michigan › Matthew David Atkins III
MATTHEW DAVID ATKINS III
Private First Class · U.S. Army
October 3, 1943 – March 21, 1967
Service recordMatthew David Atkins III, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on March 21, 1967, in Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam, at age 23. His name is inscribed on Panel 16E, Line 130 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 16E · Line 130
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)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- October 3, 1943
- Home of record
- Grand Rapids, Michigan (Kent County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 21, 1967
- Age
- 23
- Province
- Tay Ninh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
95 names on the Wall carry the date March 21, 1967; 35 of them were lost in Tây Ninh Province. In March 1967, 1,091 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 4th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 145 of its members that month.
He died in Tây Ninh Province while Operation Junction City was under way. Operation Junction City (22 February–14 May 1967), in War Zone C along the Cambodian border, was the largest U.S. operation of the war to that time and included the only major American combat parachute assault of the war. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
Also on Panel 16E, Line 130
- ROBERT ALLAN BRIEDSpecialist Four · March 21, 1967
- WILLIAM ARTHUR BROWNPrivate · March 21, 1967
- ROBERT MICHAEL CARTWRIGHTSpecialist Four · March 21, 1967
- JOSEPH CHAMPIONSpecialist Four · March 21, 1967
Same unit, same day
- EDWARD MATHEW AMATOSpecialist Four · Panel 16E, Line 127
- HERMAN E ANDERS JRSpecialist Four · Panel 16E, Line 127
- JAMES DALE BREWERSpecialist Four · Panel 16E, Line 127
- NORMAN L BALLANCE IIISpecialist Five · Panel 16E, Line 128
- MICHAEL ARLIN BALZERSpecialist Four · Panel 16E, Line 128
- LARRY DEAN BARTONSpecialist Four · Panel 16E, Line 128
- THOMAS LYNN BELLPrivate First Class · Panel 16E, Line 128
- KENNETH GENE BLANTONSpecialist Four · Panel 16E, Line 129
- JOSEPH JOHN DILANDROSergeant · Panel 17E, Line 1
- JACK EATONStaff Sergeant · Panel 17E, Line 1
- CHARLES ROBERT EMORYFirst Lieutenant · Panel 17E, Line 2
- CHARLES RAY GOODWINPrivate First Class · Panel 17E, Line 2
- BRIAN FRANCIS GIBBONSPrivate First Class · Panel 17E, Line 3
- WILLIE GRANT JRSpecialist Four · Panel 17E, Line 3
- CHARLES ROBERT GREERPrivate First Class · Panel 17E, Line 4
- EVERETTE EUGENE HARDINGPrivate First Class · Panel 17E, Line 4
- JOHN OLIVER HARRISPrivate First Class · Panel 17E, Line 4
- JAMES RAYMOND HINTZSpecialist Four · Panel 17E, Line 5
- VIRGIL MADISON LEDFORDSpecialist Four · Panel 17E, Line 7
- WILLIAM EARL MALLORY JRPrivate First Class · Panel 17E, Line 7
- EDWARD JERRY MULLERSpecialist Four · Panel 17E, Line 9
- GARLAND ANDREW NEWHOUSESpecialist Four · Panel 17E, Line 10
- THOMAS DOUGLAS PETERKINSpecialist Four · Panel 17E, Line 11
- JOHN FRANCIS PEZZULOCorporal · Panel 17E, Line 11
From Grand Rapids
- MILLARD RUSSELL VALERIUSCaptain · May 28, 1965
- ROBERT JEROME MORONEYCaptain · December 14, 1965
- HERMAN LEROY HUEYSergeant · February 7, 1966
- DONALD BRUCE ADAMSONSecond Lieutenant · February 23, 1966
- JERRY EMMET PARKSPrivate First Class · March 5, 1966
- DAVID ORIN BAILEYPrivate First Class · April 8, 1966
- GARY SCOTT FERGUSONPrivate First Class · August 3, 1966
- DAVID LAWRENCE FAUGHTPrivate First Class · August 10, 1966
- EVERETTE ARTHUR THOMPSONPrivate First Class · August 10, 1966
- MATTHEW GEORGE MIEDEMAPrivate First Class · August 25, 1966
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.