The Wall › Panel 17W › Georgia › Dwight Jackson Thornton
DWIGHT JACKSON THORNTON
Captain · U.S. Army
September 1, 1939 – October 25, 1969
Service recordDwight Jackson Thornton, of Albany, Georgia, served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. He died on October 25, 1969, in Laos, at age 30. His name is inscribed on Panel 17W, Line 118 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 17W · Line 118
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
- Captain (CPT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Air Observation Pilot (1981)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- September 1, 1939
- Home of record
- Albany, Georgia (Dougherty County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- October 25, 1969
- Age
- 30
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
17 names on the Wall carry the date October 25, 1969. In October 1969, 600 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 42 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 17W, Line 118
- ADRIAN ALAN AKINSSpecialist Five · October 25, 1969
- MICHAEL JOHN RODOWICZLance Corporal · October 25, 1969
- CHARLES EDGAR SHULTZStaff Sergeant · October 25, 1969
- JAMES DERRILL STEVENSONFirst Lieutenant · October 25, 1969
Same unit, same day
- MILBERT WALTER HAMILTONWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 17W, Line 117
From Albany
- JOSEPH EARNEST HIPPPrivate First Class · January 11, 1966
- BENJAMIN GEORGE SPEARSSergeant · March 7, 1966
- WILLIAM EARL COOPERColonel · April 24, 1966
- GLEN EVERETT WALLACEStaff Sergeant · May 19, 1966
- ROBERT LEE BARNESPrivate First Class · July 9, 1966
- ROBERT LEE DORSEYSergeant · August 16, 1966
- JOSEPH HUBERT GOINGS JRPrivate First Class · May 14, 1967
- DONNIE COLEMANSpecialist Four · September 7, 1967
- MARVIN ROYCE DAVISSergeant · December 15, 1967
- WILLIE JACKSONPrivate First Class · February 22, 1968
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.