The Wall › Panel 34E › Arizona › Earl Pearson Hopper JR
EARL PEARSON HOPPER JR
Lieutenant Colonel · U.S. Air Force
July 21, 1943 – January 10, 1968
Service recordEarl Pearson Hopper JR, of Phoenix, Arizona, served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on January 10, 1968, in North Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 34E, Line 20 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 34E · Line 20
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
- Lieutenant Colonel (LTCOL)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Pilot (1115R)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 13 TFS
- Born
- July 21, 1943
- Home of record
- Phoenix, Arizona (Maricopa County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- January 10, 1968
- Country
- North Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
Context · from the records
What was happening
70 names on the Wall carry the date January 10, 1968. In January 1968, 1,546 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 34E, Line 20
- JEROME WILLIAM ELLENSONSergeant · January 10, 1968
- SAMUEL JAMES HELFENSTINEStaff Sergeant · January 10, 1968
- ALEX JAMES HERNANDEZPrivate First Class · January 10, 1968
- ROBERT LEE HUTCHISONStaff Sergeant · January 10, 1968
From Phoenix
- DURWARD DEAN GOSNEYMajor · October 7, 1964
- CHARLES ALVA DALEMajor · June 9, 1965
- WILBURN DANIEL FELKINSCorporal · July 30, 1965
- LEE E ANDERSONSergeant · September 19, 1965
- DERRELL BLACKBUR JEFFORDSColonel · December 24, 1965
- JOHNNY HOWARD GODFREYCaptain · January 11, 1966
- GEORGE A HOAGLAND IIIStaff Sergeant · January 29, 1966
- JACK LANDEN HIMESPrivate First Class · February 26, 1966
- ROY JOHN HIGGINS JRCorporal · March 5, 1966
- DARRELL LEE JOHNSONPrivate First Class · March 5, 1966
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.