The Wall › Panel 1E › Kentucky › Charles Ervin Shelton
CHARLES ERVIN SHELTON
Colonel · U.S. Air Force
April 29, 1932 – April 29, 1965
Service recordCharles Ervin Shelton, of Owensboro, Kentucky, served as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on April 29, 1965, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 1E, Line 111 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1E · Line 111
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. Air Force
- Rank
- Colonel (COL)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Unit (as recorded)
- 15 TRS
- Born
- April 29, 1932
- Home of record
- Owensboro, Kentucky (Daviess County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- April 29, 1965
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Captured / prisoner of war
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
One name on the Wall carry the date April 29, 1965. In April 1965, 61 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 1E, Line 111
- RAYMOND LEON HORNCorporal · May 1, 1965
- ROBERT AUSTIN STUBBERFIELDLieutenant Colonel · May 6, 1965
- WILLIAM THOMAS BOWMANStaff Sergeant · May 7, 1965
- JOHN WILLIAM IRVING JRFirst Lieutenant · May 8, 1965
From Owensboro
- RANDELL GENE TRAILLance Corporal · October 26, 1965
- RAYMOND LEE FORDWarrant Officer 1 · March 29, 1966
- CHARLES RATES LEWISSpecialist Four · February 16, 1967
- CHARLES RAYMOND LEONARDSpecialist Four · July 22, 1967
- MANFORD DALVIS STEWARTPrivate First Class · September 4, 1967
- JOSEPH ANTHONY COOMESPetty Officer Third Class · September 21, 1967
- PAUL LEE PRICECorporal · September 23, 1967
- JAMES THOMAS COONPrivate First Class · November 10, 1967
- ROBERT WESLEY WATTSWarrant Officer 1 · November 22, 1967
- KENNETH R SHOEMAKER JRFirst Lieutenant · November 30, 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.