The Wall › Panel 39W › Iowa › Donald Arthur Thompson
DONALD ARTHUR THOMPSON
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
April 9, 1948 – November 14, 1968
Service recordDonald Arthur Thompson, of West Union, Iowa, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on November 14, 1968, in Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 39W, Line 68 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 39W · Line 68
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
- Specialist Four (SP4)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- April 9, 1948
- Home of record
- West Union, Iowa (Fayette County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- November 14, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Tay Ninh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Died of Wounds
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
29 names on the Wall carry the date November 14, 1968; two of them were lost in Tây Ninh Province. In November 1968, 918 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 98 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 39W, Line 68
- LARRY LEE JOHNSONPrivate First Class · November 14, 1968
- LESLIE CALVIN PASCHAL JRLance Corporal · November 14, 1968
- CHARLES DEAN PLUMMERChief Warrant Officer 2 · November 14, 1968
- DELMAR SHELLEYPrivate · November 14, 1968
Same unit, same day
- RANDOLPH EDWARD HATTONPrivate First Class · Panel 39W, Line 66
- JERRY DWAIN HILLCorporal · Panel 39W, Line 66
- DAVID MICHAEL MORRISWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 39W, Line 67
From West Union
- JAMES ARTHUR KRUSEPrivate First Class · June 10, 1969
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.