The Wall › Panel 1W › Massachusetts › Robert Francis Townes JR
ROBERT FRANCIS TOWNES JR
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
August 2, 1952 – July 8, 1972
Service recordRobert Francis Townes JR, of Middleboro, Massachusetts, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on July 8, 1972, in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 54 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 54
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
- Armor Crewman (11E)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 196 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- August 2, 1952
- Home of record
- Middleboro, Massachusetts (Plymouth County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- July 8, 1972
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Quang Nam
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Died of Wounds
- Circumstance
- Unknown
Context · from the records
What was happening
Three names on the Wall carry the date July 8, 1972; he was the only one lost in Quảng Nam Province that day. In July 1972, 53 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 196th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 4 of its members that month.
He died in Quảng Nam Province while the Easter Offensive was under way. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched its largest offensive since 1968, attacking across the DMZ, toward An Lộc and into the Central Highlands. By then few U.S. ground troops remained; American advisers and air power fought alongside the South Vietnamese.
Also on Panel 1W, Line 54
- LEONARD ROBERTSONMajor · July 7, 1972
- LOUIS HAZELAirman First Class · July 8, 1972
- STANLEY J KUICKColonel · July 9, 1972
- JOHN ANDREW TODDFirst Lieutenant · July 9, 1972
From Middleboro
- HUBERT BRADFORD LOHEEDCaptain · February 1, 1966
- GERALD BRIAN DORRPrivate First Class · April 15, 1967
- WAYNE MAURICE CARONPetty Officer Third Class · July 28, 1968
- FRED ZIMRI WASHBURNFirst Lieutenant · October 2, 1968
- WILLIAM JOHN MORRISONLance Corporal · November 1, 1968
- DAVID LESLIE BELLERIVECorporal · January 19, 1969
- WILLIAM MARK SMITHSergeant · March 3, 1969
- WILLIAM F HITCHCOCKPrivate First Class · April 15, 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.