The Wall › Panel 36E › New York › Robert Michael Finnegan
ROBERT MICHAEL FINNEGAN
Private First Class · U.S. Army
February 23, 1947 – January 31, 1968
Service recordRobert Michael Finnegan, of Garden City Park, New York, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on January 31, 1968, in Lam Dong Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 36E, Line 7 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 36E · Line 7
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
- Drill Sergeant (00F)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 25 INF DIV
- Born
- February 23, 1947
- Home of record
- Garden City Park, New York (Nassau County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 31, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Lam Dong
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
246 names on the Wall carry the date January 31, 1968; he was the only one lost in Lam Dong Province that day. In January 1968, 1,546 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 25th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 169 of its members that month.
He died in Lam Dong 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 36E, Line 7
- WILLIAM BRADLEY DUNCANWarrant Officer 1 · January 31, 1968
- HARRY LEON ECTONPrivate First Class · January 31, 1968
- CLARENCE LOVICE EVANSPrivate First Class · January 31, 1968
- FRANK EDWIN FAUGHTSpecialist Four · January 31, 1968
Same unit, same day
- ROGER BRIAN CROWELLSpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 4
- GERALD LAMPLEY FITTSPrivate First Class · Panel 36E, Line 8
- LUEY VERNON HOLLANDSpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 15
- EVERETT WILSON JOHNSON JRPrivate First Class · Panel 36E, Line 18
- TROY A LITTLEJOHNSergeant · Panel 36E, Line 22
- NORMAN LACY LONG JRSpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 22
- EDWARD MORRIS PIKESpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 30
- RICHARD JAMES RHODESSpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 32
- BENNY JAMES SMITHPrivate First Class · Panel 36E, Line 36
- HAROLD RICHARD STAFFORDSpecialist Five · Panel 36E, Line 37
- PATRICK JOSEPH STRAYERStaff Sergeant · Panel 36E, Line 39
- GERALD DEWAYNE SULLIVANSergeant · Panel 36E, Line 39
- ANTHONY F VANHULLE IISpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 40
- MURRAY LEE VERONSpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 40
- TERRY JOE WILLIAMSSpecialist Four · Panel 36E, Line 42
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.