The Wall › Panel 39E › Connecticut › Robert A Elia
ROBERT A ELIA
Sergeant · U.S. Army
February 12, 1947 – February 13, 1968
Service recordRobert A Elia, of Shelton, Connecticut, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on February 13, 1968, in Binh Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 39E, Line 20 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 39E · Line 20
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
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Defense Acquisition And Survival Radar Crewman (17F)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- February 12, 1947
- Home of record
- Shelton, Connecticut (Fairfield County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 13, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Binh Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
Context · from the records
What was happening
60 names on the Wall carry the date February 13, 1968; three of them were lost in Bình Định Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 168 of its members that month.
He died in Bình Định 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 39E, Line 20
- ERNEST FREDERICK DAVIDOVEPrivate First Class · February 13, 1968
- MIGUEL ANGEL DIAZ-COLLAZOPrivate First Class · February 13, 1968
- ARTHUR LEE EDMONDS JRPrivate First Class · February 13, 1968
- EDWARD STANLEY ESTESLance Corporal · February 13, 1968
Same unit, same day
- JAMES CHRISTOPHER ALBERTINICorporal · Panel 39E, Line 16
- WINFIELD WESLEY BECKFirst Lieutenant · Panel 39E, Line 17
- JAMES LEE BROWN JRCorporal · Panel 39E, Line 17
- RODNEY SALVADOR CANTOHOSCorporal · Panel 39E, Line 18
- ERNEST FREDERICK DAVIDOVEPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 20
- JAMES F FUQUASpecialist Four · Panel 39E, Line 21
- JACK WILLIAM GRANDAHLSpecialist Four · Panel 39E, Line 21
- JOHN MAJOR MARTINFirst Lieutenant · Panel 39E, Line 23
- HOBERT TRUMAN ROLLINSCorporal · Panel 39E, Line 25
- NORMAN THOMAS DAGOSTINOSpecialist Four · Panel 39E, Line 27
- TIM THOMASCorporal · Panel 39E, Line 27
- TERRY WAYNE WILLIAMSPrivate First Class · Panel 39E, Line 28
From Shelton
- JOHN LEONARD SCHMECKERSpecialist Four · December 22, 1966
- DAVID LAWRENCE SHEEHYPrivate First Class · January 8, 1967
- JAMES GORDON SMITHLance Corporal · June 2, 1968
- GERALD HENRY FORGUESergeant · October 30, 1968
- CARL EDWARD PACKARD JRPrivate First Class · May 12, 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.