The Wall › Panel 14E › New York › Donald Earl Thompson
DONALD EARL THOMPSON
Commander · U.S. Navy
February 17, 1940 – February 4, 1967
Service recordDonald Earl Thompson, of Wellsville, New York, served as a Commander in the U.S. Navy. He was lost on February 4, 1967, in North Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 14E, Line 120 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 14E · Line 120
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
Did you know him? Family members and friends are invited to share a photograph or a memory. Nothing is posted until it has been reviewed.
Service
- Branch
- U.S. Navy
- Rank
- Commander (CDR)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Url Pilot (1315)
- Unit (as recorded)
- VF 123
- Born
- February 17, 1940
- Home of record
- Wellsville, New York (Allegany County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- February 4, 1967
- Country
- North Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
Context · from the records
What was happening
29 names on the Wall carry the date February 4, 1967. In February 1967, 767 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
On the Wall
Also on Panel 14E, Line 120
- JOHN STORELLIPrivate First Class · February 4, 1967
- JOE FRANKLIN WALKERStaff Sergeant · February 4, 1967
- DENNIS WILBURPrivate First Class · February 4, 1967
- FRANKLIN BRUCE WILLIAMSPrivate First Class · February 4, 1967
From Wellsville
- CHARLES MATHEW DUTTONSpecialist Five · April 8, 1968
- GARY JOSEPH COYLEPrivate First Class · February 7, 1969
- DONALD NEIL PENSYLSpecialist Four · August 30, 1971
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.