The Wall › Panel 5W › Maryland › David Murray May
DAVID MURRAY MAY
Captain · U.S. Army
January 29, 1945 – February 20, 1971
Service recordDavid Murray May, of Hyattsville, Maryland, served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. He was lost on February 20, 1971, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 5W, Line 125 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 5W · Line 125
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. Army
- Rank
- Captain (CPT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Utility/Observation Helicopter Pilot (100B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- January 29, 1945
- Home of record
- Hyattsville, Maryland (Prince George's County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- February 20, 1971
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
Context · from the records
What was happening
23 names on the Wall carry the date February 20, 1971. In February 1971, 387 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Aviation Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 23 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while Operation Lam Son 719 was under way. In Lam Son 719 (February–March 1971), South Vietnamese troops drove into Laos to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail, carried and supported by U.S. helicopters and aircraft; more than 100 U.S. helicopters were lost.
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.
Also on Panel 5W, Line 125
- BRIAN WALLACE KONGFirst Lieutenant · February 20, 1971
- CHESTER GEORGE LYONSSergeant · February 20, 1971
- BENJAMIN KEALII MALABEYLance Corporal · February 20, 1971
- WILLIAM WALTER MALONESpecialist Four · February 20, 1971
Same unit, same day
- ROBERT JOSEPH ACALOTTOStaff Sergeant · Panel 5W, Line 122
- RANDOLPH LEROY JOHNSONSergeant First Class · Panel 5W, Line 124
- JON ERIC REIDChief Warrant Officer 3 · Panel 5W, Line 126
From Hyattsville
- UWE-THORSTEN SCOBELCaptain · March 25, 1964
- JOHN QUINCY QUESENBERRYPrivate First Class · July 9, 1966
- STEPHEN MICHAEL DYDYNSKIPrivate First Class · January 21, 1967
- PAUL LEROY HARRISONPrivate First Class · April 5, 1967
- JOSEPH RAYMOND SMITHSpecialist Four · April 17, 1967
- DAVID KEITH HOLDWAYLance Corporal · May 3, 1967
- MICHAEL JAMES HOOVERPrivate First Class · November 16, 1967
- THOMAS RAY KINGWarrant Officer 1 · December 16, 1967
- ALTON LAMOTTE WATKINS JRCorporal · January 2, 1968
- EUGENE EDWARD SWIFTSeaman · March 9, 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.