The Wall › Panel 53W › Alabama › Wilmer Franklin Simpkins
WILMER FRANKLIN SIMPKINS
Sergeant · U.S. Army
May 1, 1942 – July 7, 1968
Service recordWilmer Franklin Simpkins, of Fairfax, Alabama, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on July 7, 1968, in Quang Ngai Province, South Vietnam, at age 26. His name is inscribed on Panel 53W, Line 39 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 53W · Line 39
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
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 198 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- May 1, 1942
- Home of record
- Fairfax, Alabama (Chambers County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- July 7, 1968
- Age
- 26
- Province
- Quang Ngai
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
52 names on the Wall carry the date July 7, 1968; five of them were lost in Quảng Ngãi Province. In July 1968, 993 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 198th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 23 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 53W, Line 39
- LESLIE WILLIAM ROYALL IIIHospitalman · July 7, 1968
- DAVID JACKSON SHARPSpecialist Four · July 7, 1968
- LEONARD COSBY SHARPLEYSpecialist Four · July 7, 1968
- MICHAEL ERNEST SINGERPrivate First Class · July 7, 1968
Same unit, same day
- CHARLES DUANE BENNETTCorporal · Panel 53W, Line 32
- PAUL KINARD JOHNSTONSpecialist Four · Panel 53W, Line 36
- WILLIAM PAUL WEBERStaff Sergeant · Panel 53W, Line 41
- DONALD CHARLES WILSONSpecialist Four · Panel 53W, Line 41
From Fairfax
- LARRY ONEAL ADAMSONSpecialist Four · October 3, 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.