The Wall › Panel 11E › California › Donald Wilfred Shanks
DONALD WILFRED SHANKS
Petty Officer Third Class · U.S. Navy
December 21, 1940 – October 26, 1966
Service recordDonald Wilfred Shanks, of Crescent City, California, served as a Petty Officer Third Class in the U.S. Navy. He died on October 26, 1966, in North Vietnam, at age 25. His name is inscribed on Panel 11E, Line 114 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 11E · Line 114
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. Navy
- Rank
- Petty Officer Third Class (PO3)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Boatswain's Mate (BM)
- Born
- December 21, 1940
- Home of record
- Crescent City, California (Del Norte County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- October 26, 1966
- Age
- 25
- Country
- North Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Drowning
Context · from the records
What was happening
54 names on the Wall carry the date October 26, 1966. In October 1966, 516 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.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 11E, Line 114
- OMAR RAY FORDLieutenant Commander · October 26, 1966
- GLENN RAYMOND MORRISON JRLieutenant Colonel · October 26, 1966
- JOHN JOSEPH NUSSBAUMERCommander · October 26, 1966
- MICHAEL GERALD PETERSONPrivate First Class · October 26, 1966
From Crescent City
- JAMES HENRY WHISENHUNTLance Corporal · April 30, 1967
- JOHN ROBERT KLOTZSpecialist Four · September 28, 1968
- DAVID GUY CUMMINGSSpecialist Four · February 26, 1969
- HOWARD EARL CRAMBLETWarrant Officer 1 · May 12, 1969
- LEONARD GEORGE GREVILLEPrivate First Class · July 7, 1969
- EDWARD DEAN LOCKETTPrivate · February 10, 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.