The Wall › Panel 7E › New Jersey › Donald William Bruch JR
DONALD WILLIAM BRUCH JR
First Lieutenant · U.S. Air Force
August 27, 1941 – April 29, 1966
Service recordDonald William Bruch JR, of Montclair, New Jersey, served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. He died on April 29, 1966, in North Vietnam, at age 24. His name is inscribed on Panel 7E, Line 7 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 7E · Line 7
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. Air Force
- Rank
- First Lieutenant (1STLT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Unit (as recorded)
- 333 TFG SQ
- Born
- August 27, 1941
- Home of record
- Montclair, New Jersey (Essex County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 29, 1966
- Age
- 24
- Country
- North Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
33 names on the Wall carry the date April 29, 1966. In April 1966, 406 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 7E, Line 7
- TOMMY LEE BOATWRIGHTPrivate First Class · April 29, 1966
- LEO SYDNEY BOSTONColonel · April 29, 1966
- LOREN EUGENE BRADLEYPrivate First Class · April 29, 1966
- THOMAS EDWARD BROWNLieutenant (junior grade) · April 29, 1966
From Montclair
- JAMES LUTHER RICKSPrivate First Class · January 28, 1966
- LEWIS HERBERT ABRAMSColonel · November 25, 1967
- RICHARD LEE CARLSONCorporal · December 28, 1967
- JOHNNIE BEE ESPYCorporal · June 7, 1968
- HUGH COYLEStaff Sergeant · July 7, 1968
- DAVID BRUCE FREEDLance Corporal · September 19, 1968
- BRUCE SEARIGHT MCFADYENLieutenant · January 17, 1969
- ALFRED BARNESLieutenant Colonel · May 12, 1969
- LAWRENCE COPPEDGESpecialist Four · June 10, 1969
- ROBERT LABUDDE ASMUTH JRFirst Lieutenant · July 26, 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.