The Wall › Panel 44E › Florida › Ronald Elmer Johns
RONALD ELMER JOHNS
Staff Sergeant · U.S. Army
April 17, 1946 – March 15, 1968
Service recordRonald Elmer Johns, of Daytona Beach, Florida, served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on March 15, 1968, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 44E, Line 59 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 44E · Line 59
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
- Staff Sergeant (SSG)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Armor Reconnaissance Specialist (11D)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- April 17, 1946
- Home of record
- Daytona Beach, Florida (Volusia County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 15, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
42 names on the Wall carry the date March 15, 1968; six of them were lost in Thừa Thiên Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 104 of its members that month.
He died in Thừa Thiên 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 44E, Line 59
- AUSTIN MICHAEL GAUGHANPrivate First Class · March 15, 1968
- RAYMOND CALVIN GUESTCorporal · March 15, 1968
- WILLIAM HERSHANLance Corporal · March 15, 1968
- JAMES MAYNARD JENSENCorporal · March 15, 1968
Same unit, same day
- WALTER LEE MCCAHANLieutenant Colonel · Panel 44E, Line 61
- WALTER JOHN PANAMAROFFFirst Lieutenant · Panel 44E, Line 61
- HOWARD PALMA PETTYLieutenant Colonel · Panel 44E, Line 61
- ROBERT SMEALSergeant · Panel 44E, Line 62
- WILLIAM SMYLY WILLIAMS JRPrivate First Class · Panel 44E, Line 63
From Daytona Beach
- DAVID WESLEY BRANCHPrivate First Class · October 7, 1966
- RUDI HERMANN DUSCHEKSpecialist Five · April 12, 1967
- CHARLES MILLERPrivate First Class · April 17, 1967
- CHARLES EDWARD CHERRYStaff Sergeant · May 29, 1967
- LEEROY ELDRED PEEKSPrivate First Class · January 31, 1968
- ROBERT WAYNE PRINEFirst Lieutenant · February 12, 1968
- RAYMOND ELLIS TIFFANYPrivate First Class · January 16, 1969
- TOMMY LEE ROBINSONPrivate First Class · March 11, 1969
- ARTHUR WHORLOW SMITHSpecialist Five · April 22, 1969
- KENNETH LEWIS MCFALLCorporal · June 19, 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.