The Wall › Panel 42E › Texas › Roberto Pena Rios
ROBERTO PENA RIOS
Private · U.S. Army
October 16, 1949 – March 4, 1968
Service recordRoberto Pena Rios, of San Angelo, Texas, served as a Private in the U.S. Army. He died on March 4, 1968, in Phu Yen Province, South Vietnam, at age 18. His name is inscribed on Panel 42E, Line 71 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 42E · Line 71
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 (PVT)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Armor Crewman (11E)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 173 AIRBORNE BDE
- Born
- October 16, 1949
- Home of record
- San Angelo, Texas (Tom Green County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 4, 1968
- Age
- 18
- Province
- Phu Yen
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Burns/Smoke Inhalation
Context · from the records
What was happening
75 names on the Wall carry the date March 4, 1968; five of them were lost in Phu Yen Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 173rd Airborne Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 69 of its members that month.
He died in Phu Yen 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.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 42E, Line 71
- EDWARD WALTER MILANSergeant · March 4, 1968
- JEREMIAS ROMANPrivate First Class · March 4, 1968
- CAMILO JAMES SANCHEZSpecialist Four · March 4, 1968
- DONALD BARON SAUNDERSPrivate First Class · March 4, 1968
Same unit, same day
- ROBERT WILLIAM ABERNATHYSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 59
- TERRENCE WILLIAM ACHORPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 60
- PRENTIS BARNEY BOYKIN JRPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 61
- ADRIAN LEROY DELCAMPMajor · Panel 42E, Line 63
- WILLIE FRANK FOSTERPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 63
- GARY DODDS HALLSpecialist Five · Panel 42E, Line 64
- ROBERT EUGENE JACKSONSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 66
- DONNY RAMON KIDDChief Warrant Officer 2 · Panel 42E, Line 67
- ROBERT W KOIVUPALO JRPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 67
- WILLIAM PAUL MASONPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 68
- JEREMIAS ROMANPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 71
- ROBERT HARVEY WALKERSpecialist Five · Panel 43E, Line 2
From San Angelo
- CHARLES MILTON FITTSFirst Lieutenant · January 11, 1963
- LEROY BURKS JRPrivate First Class · November 1, 1966
- MICHAEL COURTNEY QUINNSeaman · May 24, 1967
- LOUIS FARR JONESColonel · November 29, 1967
- HENRY WILBURN HARTMANSpecialist Five · January 31, 1968
- DAVID ALLEN PARKERStaff Sergeant · April 6, 1968
- HARRIS LESTER COLLINSCorporal · April 26, 1968
- JIMMY RAY WHELESSCorporal · May 9, 1968
- REX WAYNE DOYLESpecialist Four · May 17, 1968
- OSCAR REINA JUAREZPrivate First Class · June 28, 1968
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.