The Wall › Panel 44E › New Jersey › Alton Thomas JR
ALTON THOMAS JR
Corporal · U.S. Marine Corps
August 28, 1946 – March 9, 1968
Service recordAlton Thomas JR, of Penns Grove, New Jersey, served as a Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on March 9, 1968, in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 44E, Line 2 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 44E · Line 2
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
- Corporal (CPL)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Motor Vehicle Operator (3531)
- Born
- August 28, 1946
- Home of record
- Penns Grove, New Jersey (Salem County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 9, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Quang Nam
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
45 names on the Wall carry the date March 9, 1968; ten of them were lost in Quảng Nam Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Quảng Nam 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 44E, Line 2
- EUGENE EDWARD SWIFTSeaman · March 9, 1968
- HENRY EARL THOMASSpecialist Four · March 9, 1968
- SANTIAGO TORRES JRPrivate First Class · March 9, 1968
- MCCREA BENEDICT TUTTLECaptain · March 9, 1968
From Penns Grove
- CHARLES ROBERT WETZELPrivate First Class · March 4, 1966
- GERALD RONALD THOMPSONPrivate First Class · March 5, 1967
- ROY MORGAN JONES JRPrivate First Class · April 18, 1967
- JOHN HERBERT CHEEKSCorporal · April 28, 1967
- LARRY HANSEN BOWENPrivate First Class · June 7, 1969
- MICHAEL JENNINGSLance Corporal · July 25, 1969
- THOMAS SAMUEL ROGERSWarrant Officer 1 · July 14, 1970
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.