The Wall › Panel 63W › Illinois › Richard Earl Githens
RICHARD EARL GITHENS
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
October 9, 1948 – May 29, 1968
Service recordRichard Earl Githens, of Centralia, Illinois, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on May 29, 1968, in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 63W, Line 6 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 63W · Line 6
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)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- October 9, 1948
- Home of record
- Centralia, Illinois (Multiple County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 29, 1968
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Quang Nam
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
59 names on the Wall carry the date May 29, 1968; 13 of them were lost in Quảng Nam Province. In May 1968, 2,418 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 160 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 63W, Line 6
- GENE TYNDALL GRANTLance Corporal · May 29, 1968
- BRUCE ROBERT HAYESLance Corporal · May 29, 1968
- BRADFORD JOHN F HIPPIEPrivate First Class · May 29, 1968
- MICHAEL LEE HORNCorporal · May 29, 1968
Same unit, same day
- CHARLES WILLIAM BROWN JRSergeant · Panel 63W, Line 3
- JUAN ANGEL ELIASSergeant · Panel 63W, Line 5
- RONALD LEE MABEPrivate First Class · Panel 63W, Line 8
- JOAQUIN NERIS-APONTEStaff Sergeant · Panel 63W, Line 9
- NICHOLAS ANTHONY NATALEPrivate First Class · Panel 63W, Line 10
- ROBERT KENT PERRYSpecialist Four · Panel 63W, Line 11
- JOHN DENIS PETERSCorporal · Panel 63W, Line 11
From Centralia
- MICKEY RAY GRABLECorporal · July 25, 1966
- JOHN ALAN ABRAMSLance Corporal · January 9, 1967
- BILLY DALE JACKSONPrivate First Class · March 7, 1968
- ROBERT WILLIAM HARRISLieutenant · September 23, 1968
- JOHN MICHAEL WIKESpecialist Four · February 26, 1970
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.