The Wall › Panel 33W › Michigan › Brian Lee Thornton
BRIAN LEE THORNTON
Lance Corporal · U.S. Marine Corps
October 31, 1948 – February 2, 1969
Service recordBrian Lee Thornton, of Kiva, Michigan, served as a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on February 2, 1969, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 33W, Line 47 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 33W · Line 47
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. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Lance Corporal (LCPL)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- B CO 3 RECON BN 3 MARDIV
- Born
- October 31, 1948
- Home of record
- Kiva, Michigan (Alger County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 2, 1969
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Quang Tri
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Died of Wounds
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
52 names on the Wall carry the date February 2, 1969; six of them were lost in Quảng Trị Province. In February 1969, 1,304 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 33W, Line 47
- ROBERT ANTHONY BYELance Corporal · February 3, 1969
- MICHAEL OLIVER CASSIDYSpecialist Four · February 3, 1969
- THOMAS CLARKPrivate First Class · February 3, 1969
- OTIS JAMES DARDENSpecialist Four · February 3, 1969
- ALVIN JOSEPH DERRICKPrivate First Class · February 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.