The Wall › Panel 53E › California › William Paul Townsend JR
WILLIAM PAUL TOWNSEND JR
Private First Class · U.S. Army
February 3, 1947 – May 1, 1968
Service recordWilliam Paul Townsend JR, of Reseda, California, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on May 1, 1968, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 53E, Line 42 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 53E · Line 42
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 First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 196 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- February 3, 1947
- Home of record
- Reseda, California (Los Angeles County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 1, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
85 names on the Wall carry the date May 1, 1968; 24 of them were lost in Thừa Thiên Province. In May 1968, 2,418 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 196th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 71 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 53E, Line 42
- ANTHONY TAYLORLance Corporal · May 1, 1968
- JOHN HAROLD TEETORPrivate First Class · May 1, 1968
- WILLIAM ARTHUR THOMAS JRPrivate First Class · May 1, 1968
- BARRY WILLIAM VANHORNPrivate First Class · May 1, 1968
Same unit, same day
- HOWARD ROBERT CROTHERSFirst Lieutenant · Panel 53E, Line 29
- THOMAS KEVIN LYONSPrivate First Class · Panel 53E, Line 36
- MICHAEL JAY MASSEYPrivate First Class · Panel 53E, Line 37
- EUSEBIO SOLISPrivate · Panel 53E, Line 41
From Reseda
- ARTHUR LOREN HAWKINS JRCorporal · November 10, 1967
- PATRICK LOUIS BRUCKNERLance Corporal · April 30, 1968
- MICHAEL ANTHONY GEROMESergeant · May 7, 1968
- DAVID RICHARD BINNSPrivate First Class · May 15, 1968
- JOE RAY COURTNEY JRCorporal · May 22, 1968
- DAVID COURTNEY DAHLINSergeant · September 12, 1968
- THOMAS LEE CARTERCaptain · November 10, 1968
- STEPHEN SCOTT NIEDERHAUSESpecialist Five · February 26, 1969
- JAMES RICHARD HARRISONCorporal · March 9, 1969
- JOHN ANDREW LESTELLE IIPrivate First Class · March 17, 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.