The Wall › Panel 1W › California › Donald Herman Klinke
DONALD HERMAN KLINKE
Technical Sergeant · U.S. Air Force
February 18, 1935 – June 18, 1972
Service recordDonald Herman Klinke, of West Sacramento, California, served as a Technical Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. He died on June 18, 1972, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 37. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 45 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 45
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. Air Force
- Rank
- Technical Sergeant (TSGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Born
- February 18, 1935
- Home of record
- West Sacramento, California (Yolo County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- June 18, 1972
- Age
- 37
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
Context · from the records
What was happening
14 names on the Wall carry the date June 18, 1972; 12 of them were lost in Thừa Thiên Province. In June 1972, 88 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Thừa Thiên Province while the Easter Offensive was under way. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched its largest offensive since 1968, attacking across the DMZ, toward An Lộc and into the Central Highlands. By then few U.S. ground troops remained; American advisers and air power fought alongside the South Vietnamese.
Also on Panel 1W, Line 45
- LARRY RONALD KILPATRICKLieutenant Commander · June 18, 1972
- STANLEY LAWRENCE LEHRKEStaff Sergeant · June 18, 1972
- JACOB EDWARD MERCERSenior Master Sergeant · June 18, 1972
- LARRY JEROME NEWMANTechnical Sergeant · June 18, 1972
From West Sacramento
- FRANKLIN RALPH WHITEPrivate First Class · October 6, 1963
- RICHARD ARIASSpecialist Four · January 28, 1969
- DICKIE DEAN KOELL JRLance Corporal · March 16, 1969
- THOMAS EDWARD BUMGARNERStaff Sergeant · May 14, 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.