The Wall › Panel 2E › Texas › David John Thomas
DAVID JOHN THOMAS
Corporal · U.S. Marine Corps
April 23, 1942 – August 18, 1965
Service recordDavid John Thomas, of Dallas, Texas, served as a Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on August 18, 1965, in Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam, at age 23. His name is inscribed on Panel 2E, Line 62 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 2E · Line 62
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. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Corporal (CPL)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Rifleman (0311)
- Born
- April 23, 1942
- Home of record
- Dallas, Texas (Dallas County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- August 18, 1965
- Age
- 23
- Province
- Quang Tin
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
48 names on the Wall carry the date August 18, 1965; 45 of them were lost in Quảng Tín Province. In August 1965, 179 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Quảng Tín Province while Operation Starlite was under way. Operation Starlite (18–24 August 1965), on the Van Tuong peninsula south of Chu Lai, was the first regimental-size U.S. ground battle of the war. Marines attacked the 1st Viet Cong Regiment by helicopter, amphibious landing and on foot. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
Also on Panel 2E, Line 62
- ROBERT DENNIS BROWNSpecialist Four · June 18, 1965
- GILBERT RONALD NICKERSONPrivate First Class · August 18, 1965
- JOHN BERNARD TETTEPrivate First Class · August 18, 1965
- JERRY DONALD THARPSergeant · August 18, 1965
- PETER CLARK TOWNESergeant · August 18, 1965
From Dallas
- GLENN MATTESONSecond Lieutenant · March 23, 1961
- CONDON HUNTER TERRYCaptain · June 27, 1963
- ROBERT DONALD WALKERCaptain · April 19, 1965
- LESLIE GENE KINGLieutenant Colonel · August 1, 1965
- TED WAYNE QUALLSLance Corporal · August 31, 1965
- GEORGE A WESTMaster Sergeant · September 17, 1965
- JAMES LOUIS FISHERPlatoon Sergeant · November 17, 1965
- JOSEPH CLINTON BRADYPrivate First Class · December 13, 1965
- RONALD GENE MCKINNEYSeaman · December 17, 1965
- GENE CHARLES MILLIGANStaff Sergeant · February 14, 1966
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.