The Wall › Panel 8W › California › David William Ayers
DAVID WILLIAM AYERS
Captain · U.S. Army
May 20, 1945 – July 20, 1970
Service recordDavid William Ayers, of Simi, California, served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. He died on July 20, 1970, in Laos, at age 25. His name is inscribed on Panel 8W, Line 34 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 8W · Line 34
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
- Air Observation Pilot (1981)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- May 20, 1945
- Home of record
- Simi, California (Sonoma County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- July 20, 1970
- Age
- 25
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
17 names on the Wall carry the date July 20, 1970. In July 1970, 495 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 114 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 8W, Line 34
- BILL GWINN BROWNINGCorporal · July 20, 1970
- DURL GENE CALHOUNSergeant · July 20, 1970
- EDGAR FRANKLIN CROUSE JRWarrant Officer 1 · July 20, 1970
- JOHN CHARLES KNOTTCorporal · July 20, 1970
Same unit, same day
- BILL GWINN BROWNINGCorporal · Panel 8W, Line 34
- DURL GENE CALHOUNSergeant · Panel 8W, Line 34
- JOHN CHARLES KNOTTCorporal · Panel 8W, Line 34
- SAMUEL T CARROLL JRSergeant · Panel 8W, Line 35
- PATRICK THOMAS DEWULFCorporal · Panel 8W, Line 35
- DENNIS FAY FISHERSergeant · Panel 8W, Line 35
- LARRY JOE PLETTPrivate First Class · Panel 8W, Line 36
- ELOY RUBEN VALLESpecialist Four · Panel 8W, Line 36
From Simi
- STEFFAN MICHAEL FREDSTILance Corporal · April 14, 1967
- GREGORY LAWRENCE MARTINPrivate First Class · April 19, 1967
- EDRICK KENNETH STEVENSPrivate First Class · November 6, 1967
- MICHAEL CHARLES JACKSONCorporal · March 17, 1970
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.