The Wall › Panel 29W › California › Alan Wayne Thornton
ALAN WAYNE THORNTON
Private First Class · U.S. Marine Corps
October 17, 1948 – March 14, 1969
Service recordAlan Wayne Thornton, of Lakewood, California, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on March 14, 1969, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 29W, Line 41 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 29W · Line 41
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. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Rifleman (0311)
- Born
- October 17, 1948
- Home of record
- Lakewood, California (Los Angeles County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 14, 1969
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Quang Tri
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Artillery/Mortar/Rocket
Context · from the records
What was happening
37 names on the Wall carry the date March 14, 1969; 15 of them were lost in Quảng Trị Province. In March 1969, 1,553 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
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 29W, Line 41
- ALVIN THORNTON STAHLPetty Officer First Class · March 14, 1969
- WILLIAM R STOLLEY JRLance Corporal · March 14, 1969
- GEORGE ROBERT WARD JRLance Corporal · March 14, 1969
- SYLVESTER WILSONSpecialist Four · March 14, 1969
From Lakewood
- JOHN BLOCKER MECKELLance Corporal · February 9, 1966
- LEONARD JAMES CHISLOCKPrivate First Class · February 20, 1966
- MARSHALL R SMITHStaff Sergeant · February 23, 1966
- PAUL JAMES HARRISONSpecialist Four · May 21, 1966
- JOHN HOWARD MOONEY JRCorporal · January 7, 1967
- DONALD ROBERT SORENSENLance Corporal · May 6, 1967
- CHARLES MIKE CASTILLOLance Corporal · September 21, 1967
- CRAIG D PINCHOTSecond Lieutenant · October 10, 1967
- ROGER ROBERT MARSHALLCorporal · November 19, 1967
- LEE BENJAMIN ZOELLERPrivate First Class · December 23, 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.