The Wall › Panel 44E › Maryland › Ernest Arthur Olds
ERNEST ARTHUR OLDS
Colonel · U.S. Air Force
July 14, 1934 – March 11, 1968
Service recordErnest Arthur Olds, of Salisbury, Maryland, served as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on March 11, 1968, in North Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 44E, Line 19 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 44E · Line 19
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
- Colonel (COL)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Pilot (1115C)
- Born
- July 14, 1934
- Home of record
- Salisbury, Maryland (Wicomico County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- March 11, 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
54 names on the Wall carry the date March 11, 1968. In March 1968, 1,767 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 44E, Line 19
- JAMES LEO NUFERPrivate First Class · March 11, 1968
- GEORGE HERMAN OEHLERPrivate First Class · March 11, 1968
- JEFFREY LLOYD PECKSpecialist Four · March 11, 1968
- DAVID STANLEY PRICESergeant · March 11, 1968
- JAMES WILLIAM REESEAirman First Class · March 11, 1968
From Salisbury
- BARRIE VANE BARNESSpecialist Four · May 6, 1966
- CHARLES WALTER PARSONSStaff Sergeant · June 12, 1966
- JACK HOWARD SMITHPrivate First Class · March 13, 1967
- DON LEE SHOCKLEYLance Corporal · March 28, 1967
- GEORGE THOMAS POWELLStaff Sergeant · April 24, 1967
- WILLIAM THOMAS PARKER IIIPrivate First Class · June 1, 1967
- ELMER NEAL DAVISPrivate · September 19, 1967
- JOHN DAVIS WILLINGHAMSpecialist Four · February 4, 1968
- GARY LEE BOUNDSPrivate First Class · May 5, 1968
- CECIL VAUGHN EVANSStaff Sergeant · September 7, 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.