The WallVietnam Veterans Memorial · The Lake Norman Brief
A soldier of the 4th Infantry Division secures a landing zone, October 1967.
A soldier of the 4th Infantry Division secures a landing zone, October 1967. Photo: SP5 Robert C. Lafoon, U.S. Army, public domain. Shown for the time and place, not a photograph of Donald Estel Cook.

The Wall › Panel 8E › Colorado › Donald Estel Cook

DONALD ESTEL COOK

Sergeant · U.S. Army

January 1, 1930 – June 8, 1966

Service record

Donald Estel Cook, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on June 8, 1966, in South Vietnam, at age 36. His name is inscribed on Panel 8E, Line 20 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

On the Wall

Panel 8E · Line 20

Position of Panel 8E on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

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
Sergeant (SGT)
Service
Regular
Occupation
Infantryman (11B)
Unit (as recorded)
1 INF DIV
Born
January 1, 1930
Home of record
Colorado Springs, Colorado (El Paso County)

Casualty

Date of death
June 8, 1966
Age
36
Country
South Vietnam
Casualty type
Hostile
Category
Killed in Action
Circumstance
Grenade

Context · from the records

What was happening

32 names on the Wall carry the date June 8, 1966. In June 1966, 595 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.

The 1st Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 113 of its members that month.

Also on Panel 8E, Line 20

Same unit, same day

From Colorado Springs

All 46 names from Colorado Springs →

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.