The Wall › Panel 44E › Oklahoma › Clarence Finley Blanton
CLARENCE FINLEY BLANTON
Lieutenant Colonel · U.S. Air Force
September 1, 1921 – March 11, 1968
Service recordClarence Finley Blanton, of El Reno, Oklahoma, served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He died on March 11, 1968, in Laos, at age 46. His name is inscribed on Panel 44E, Line 13 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 44E · Line 13
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
- Lieutenant Colonel (LTCOL)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- HQ USAF CEN CON GP DC TDY
- Born
- September 1, 1921
- Home of record
- El Reno, Oklahoma (Canadian County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 11, 1968
- Age
- 46
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
54 names on the Wall carry the date March 11, 1968. In March 1968, 1,767 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 44E, Line 13
- JAMES WILBURN WOODSpecialist Four · March 10, 1968
- STEPHEN MICHAEL WORLEYCorporal · March 10, 1968
- WILLIAM ALBERT ANDREWSPrivate First Class · March 11, 1968
- DONALD WAYNE BEANSergeant Major · March 11, 1968
From El Reno
- RONALD LEE WATSONSpecialist Four · August 25, 1966
- JAMES TERENCE BAYNELance Corporal · September 18, 1966
- DONALD LEE GUSTAFSONStaff Sergeant · May 8, 1967
- ALPHA LEE BUFORDPrivate First Class · November 8, 1967
- SAMMY RAY SMITHSergeant · April 16, 1968
- JOE ED RILEY JRSpecialist Four · May 10, 1968
- ROBERT DEAN PLATOMaster Sergeant · May 20, 1968
- JOHN MARSHALL HOLLOWAYStaff Sergeant · February 14, 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.