The Wall › Panel 11E › California › Darwin Joel Thomas
DARWIN JOEL THOMAS
Ensign · U.S. Navy
April 28, 1943 – October 14, 1966
Service recordDarwin Joel Thomas, of Santa Clara, California, served as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy. He died on October 14, 1966, in North Vietnam, at age 23. His name is inscribed on Panel 11E, Line 75 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 11E · Line 75
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
- Ensign (ENS)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Url Pilot (1315)
- Unit (as recorded)
- VA 152 USS ORISKANY CVA 34
- Born
- April 28, 1943
- Home of record
- Santa Clara, California (Santa Clara County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- October 14, 1966
- Age
- 23
- Country
- North Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
12 names on the Wall carry the date October 14, 1966. In October 1966, 516 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in North Vietnam while Operation Rolling Thunder was under way. Operation Rolling Thunder (March 1965–November 1968) was the sustained U.S. bombing campaign against North Vietnam, flown by Air Force fighter-bombers from Thailand and Navy aircraft from carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin against some of the densest air defenses in the world.
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
Also on Panel 11E, Line 75
- JACK DOUGLAS SPAULDINGLieutenant Colonel · October 14, 1966
- JOSEPH NELSON STEVENSLance Corporal · October 14, 1966
- LOUIS TURCHISpecialist Four · October 14, 1966
- ROBERT JACOB BLACKCorporal · October 15, 1966
From Santa Clara
- DAVID LEE ROSELance Corporal · July 17, 1965
- GREGG ERWIN REEDSeaman · September 28, 1966
- JOHN PAUL FRANKELStaff Sergeant · November 4, 1966
- KEITH LLOYD BENSONSpecialist Four · October 31, 1967
- ROBERT KIYOSHI KAWAMURAStaff Sergeant · February 15, 1968
- KENNETH MICHAEL SHANNONCaptain · February 18, 1968
- ROBERT WARREN HARDESTYSpecialist Four · March 16, 1968
- TERRENCE JOHN BELLOMOPrivate First Class · March 21, 1968
- FREDRIC BRUCE DAVISSpecialist Four · January 14, 1973
- MICHAEL GLENN LIPSIUSPrivate First Class · April 19, 1968
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.