The Wall › Panel 27W › California › Ernest Leo Desoto
ERNEST LEO DESOTO
Colonel · U.S. Air Force
December 30, 1931 – April 12, 1969
Service recordErnest Leo Desoto, of San Francisco, California, served as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on April 12, 1969, in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 27W, Line 62 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 27W · Line 62
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
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Pilot (1115F)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 390 TFS
- Born
- December 30, 1931
- Home of record
- San Francisco, California (San Francisco County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- April 12, 1969
- Province
- Kontum
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
43 names on the Wall carry the date April 12, 1969; two of them were lost in Kon Tum Province. In April 1969, 1,023 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “390 TFS”, his unit in the record, lost 2 of its members that month.
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 27W, Line 62
- LARRY DELYNN CHANDLERSergeant · April 12, 1969
- BERNHARD M CHRISTIANSENLance Corporal · April 12, 1969
- DUANE ROSS DAVISPrivate First Class · April 12, 1969
- JOSE RENTERIA DIAZSergeant · April 12, 1969
Same unit, same day
- FREDRICK MERVYN HALLCaptain · Panel 27W, Line 63
From San Francisco
- BRUCE CHARLES FARRELLLieutenant · October 8, 1963
- JOHN F SANTOS JRCaptain · April 28, 1964
- HARRY PAUL GAMBLEPrivate First Class · June 7, 1965
- LUDWIG PETER KOHLERPrivate First Class · July 26, 1965
- WILLIAM GEORGE WHEATLEYPrivate First Class · October 13, 1965
- EVERETT WILLIAM GOIASSpecialist Four · November 8, 1965
- JOHN ARTHUR NATHANSpecialist Four · November 8, 1965
- RONALD DENNIS FERGUSONSpecialist Four · November 15, 1965
- JOSE WILFREDO SUAREZSpecialist Five · November 20, 1965
- LAAVALE FUATAU TAGATALance Corporal · December 3, 1965
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.