The Wall › Panel 39E › Missouri › Curtis Frank Thurman
CURTIS FRANK THURMAN
Lieutenant · U.S. Navy
May 19, 1941 – February 17, 1968
Service recordCurtis Frank Thurman, of St James, Missouri, served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. He died on February 17, 1968, in Laos, at age 26. His name is inscribed on Panel 39E, Line 78 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 39E · Line 78
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. Navy
- Rank
- Lieutenant (LT)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Url Pilot (1310)
- Unit (as recorded)
- OBSRON 67
- Born
- May 19, 1941
- Home of record
- St James, Missouri (Phelps County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 17, 1968
- Age
- 26
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
Context · from the records
What was happening
51 names on the Wall carry the date February 17, 1968. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “OBSRON 67”, his unit in the record, lost 9 of its members that month.
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.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 39E, Line 78
- GARY RAY SMITHPrivate First Class · February 17, 1968
- DAVID HOWARD WARNERCorporal · February 17, 1968
- WILBURN EDWARD WESTERStaff Sergeant · February 17, 1968
- MAURICE THERON WILLIAMSPlatoon Sergeant · February 17, 1968
Same unit, same day
- CLAYBORN WILLIS ASHBY JRPetty Officer Second Class · Panel 39E, Line 69
- CHESTER LEROY COONSPetty Officer Second Class · Panel 39E, Line 69
- FRANK ARTHUR DAWSONAirman · Panel 39E, Line 70
- PAUL NICHOLAS DONATOPetty Officer First Class · Panel 39E, Line 70
- GLENN MILLER HAYDENCommander · Panel 39E, Line 71
- JAMES STEPHEN KRAVITZLieutenant (junior grade) · Panel 39E, Line 73
- JAMES EDWARD MARTINAirman · Panel 39E, Line 74
- JAMES CHARLES WONNEnsign · Panel 39E, Line 77
From St James
- DONALD FREYSpecialist Four · October 9, 1965
- MICHAEL RICHARD WILSONWarrant Officer 1 · August 11, 1968
- MICHAEL ROY WILSONWarrant Officer 1 · June 25, 1971
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.