The Wall › Panel 42E › Indiana › William Franklin Alsman
WILLIAM FRANKLIN ALSMAN
Staff Sergeant · U.S. Army
October 21, 1932 – March 3, 1968
Service recordWilliam Franklin Alsman, of Indianapolis, Indiana, served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on March 3, 1968, in Gia Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 35. His name is inscribed on Panel 42E, Line 47 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 42E · Line 47
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
Did you know him? Family members and friends are invited to share a photograph or a memory. Nothing is posted until it has been reviewed.
Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Staff Sergeant (SSG)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Armor Reconnaissance Specialist (11D)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 25 INF DIV
- Born
- October 21, 1932
- Home of record
- Indianapolis, Indiana (Marion County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 3, 1968
- Age
- 35
- Province
- Gia Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Died of Wounds
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
65 names on the Wall carry the date March 3, 1968; 18 of them were lost in Gia Dinh Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 25th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 188 of its members that month.
He died in Gia Dinh 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 42E, Line 47
- HOWARD HERRELL ASHFORDSergeant · March 3, 1968
- RICHARD LEE BORGMANPrivate First Class · March 3, 1968
- FRANK LESTER BROWNPrivate · March 3, 1968
- KENNETH ALLEN BUYSSergeant · March 3, 1968
Same unit, same day
- RONALD JEROME DENT CASPERPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 48
- DAN EUGENE CHARLESPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 48
- JAMES MICHAEL DARBYPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 48
- VINCENT ANTHONY DATENASpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 49
- FRANCISCO FRANCOSergeant · Panel 42E, Line 51
- WILLIAM ARLIN JORDANPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 52
- JIMMY FRANCIS LEHMANSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 53
- JIMMIE EDWARD PARKERSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 55
- DANIEL L PENSONSpecialist Five · Panel 42E, Line 55
- HARMON WAYNE PERRYSpecialist Five · Panel 42E, Line 56
- EDDIE LEE PLEASANTSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 56
- SAMUEL DEWEY RIDER JRSergeant · Panel 42E, Line 56
- THOMAS F SMITH JRSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 57
- RICHARD CHARLES SPENCERSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 57
- KENNETH LINDLE OLDHAMPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 58
- DENNIS HUGH THOMPSONSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 58
From Indianapolis
- JAMES EDWARD CAUGHEYSpecialist Four · August 14, 1964
- CLARENCE LEROY COLEMANSpecialist Five · February 10, 1965
- IVAN RAY SMITHPrivate First Class · May 13, 1965
- KENNETH LEROY REEDStaff Sergeant · June 12, 1965
- JOHN POWERS DAVISSpecialist Five · July 21, 1965
- CURLEY SHERELS JRCorporal · August 18, 1965
- ALVIN CARVER FORNEYCorporal · September 1, 1965
- WILLIAM LARRIE HUNTPrivate First Class · November 6, 1965
- THOMAS CURTIS METSKERCaptain · November 14, 1965
- VILIS LISMENTSCorporal · November 22, 1965
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.