The Wall › Panel 30W › Massachusetts › William James McNamara
WILLIAM JAMES MCNAMARA
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
April 3, 1949 – March 7, 1969
Service recordWilliam James McNamara, of Boston, Massachusetts, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on March 7, 1969, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 30W, Line 68 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 30W · Line 68
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
- Specialist Four (SP4)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 5 INF DIV MECH
- Born
- April 3, 1949
- Home of record
- Boston, Massachusetts (Suffolk County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 7, 1969
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Quang Tri
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
45 names on the Wall carry the date March 7, 1969; nine of them were lost in Quảng Trị Province. In March 1969, 1,553 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “5 INF DIV MECH”, his unit in the record, lost 31 of its members that month.
He died in Quảng Trị Province while Operation Dewey Canyon was under way. In Operation Dewey Canyon (22 January–18 March 1969) the 9th Marines struck North Vietnamese base areas in the Đa Krông and A Shau valleys, the last major Marine offensive of the war. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
Read the history
Also on Panel 30W, Line 68
- LEWIS LEVI MCDONALDPrivate First Class · March 7, 1969
- JOSEPH EDWIN NESKEPrivate First Class · March 7, 1969
- JOHN SADAO OTAKESpecialist Four · March 7, 1969
- TED QUINTON REED JRSergeant · March 7, 1969
Same unit, same day
- WILLIAM FRANKLIN GOODWINSpecialist Four · Panel 30W, Line 64
- JOSEPH CHARLES RUSSOSpecialist Four · Panel 30W, Line 69
- NELSON LEE SMITHFirst Lieutenant · Panel 30W, Line 70
From Boston
- ORIEN JUDSON WALKER JRMajor · May 23, 1965
- SEYMOUR PATRICK SADBERRYPrivate First Class · October 30, 1965
- STEPHEN JOSEPH STERITIPrivate First Class · May 8, 1966
- BRUCE ELLSWORTH JASONStaff Sergeant · September 13, 1966
- WILLIAM EDWARD JOYCE JRFirst Lieutenant · November 16, 1966
- JOHN H JOYCEMajor · December 21, 1966
- THOMAS JOSEPH CONNERSPrivate First Class · November 5, 1966
- JAMES FRANCIS MURRAYCorporal · April 26, 1967
- LEO JOSEPH SULLIVAN JRLance Corporal · May 8, 1967
- BOBBY LEE FINNEYSpecialist Four · June 22, 1967
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.