The Wall › Panel 44E › California › Walter John Panamaroff
WALTER JOHN PANAMAROFF
First Lieutenant · U.S. Army
January 21, 1944 – March 15, 1968
Service recordWalter John Panamaroff, of Lompoc, California, served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He died on March 15, 1968, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 24. His name is inscribed on Panel 44E, Line 61 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 44E · Line 61
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
- First Lieutenant (1LT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Air Observation Pilot (1981)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- January 21, 1944
- Home of record
- Lompoc, California (Santa Barbara County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 15, 1968
- Age
- 24
- 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 61
- WALTER LEE MCCAHANLieutenant Colonel · March 15, 1968
- ROGER TILTON NELSONLance Corporal · March 15, 1968
- HOWARD PALMA PETTYLieutenant Colonel · March 15, 1968
- JAMES BURNELL RICKELSSeaman · March 15, 1968
Same unit, same day
- RONALD ELMER JOHNSStaff Sergeant · Panel 44E, Line 59
- WALTER LEE MCCAHANLieutenant Colonel · 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 Lompoc
- BILLIE LESTER BEARDStaff Sergeant · April 21, 1962
- ROBERT WENDELL GILLIAMSpecialist Five · October 7, 1966
- FRED WALTER PACKSergeant · March 11, 1967
- THORNE M CLARK IIIPrivate First Class · June 22, 1967
- ROBERT MICHAEL SWICKFirst Lieutenant · June 6, 1968
- MITCHELL ALLEN WENTZPetty Officer Second Class · June 7, 1968
- JIM ROY GONZALESSpecialist Four · July 1, 1968
- JOSEPH FRANK BIBERSergeant · September 19, 1968
- DANIEL JOSEPH VAUGHANSpecialist Five · May 11, 1970
- MARC BRADLEY BELONCorporal · May 14, 1970
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.