The Wall › Panel 11W › Minnesota › Ernest Leroy Thorson
ERNEST LEROY THORSON
Private First Class · U.S. Army
May 24, 1950 – April 26, 1970
Service recordErnest Leroy Thorson, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on April 26, 1970, in Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 11W, Line 54 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 11W · Line 54
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.
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Armor Reconnaissance Specialist (11D)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 11 ARMORED CAV
- Born
- May 24, 1950
- Home of record
- Minneapolis, Minnesota (Hennepin County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 26, 1970
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Tay Ninh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Artillery/Mortar/Rocket
Context · from the records
What was happening
17 names on the Wall carry the date April 26, 1970; two of them were lost in Tây Ninh Province. In April 1970, 730 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “11 ARMORED CAV”, his unit in the record, lost 19 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 11W, Line 54
- DONNIE REX BOGGSSpecialist Four · April 26, 1970
- PETER KESTUTIS BOYEVCaptain · April 26, 1970
- TONY CLOUGHFirst Lieutenant · April 26, 1970
- RANDALL LEWIS CRABTREESpecialist Four · April 26, 1970
Same unit, same day
- BRUCE HAROLD BARDONPrivate First Class · Panel 11W, Line 56
From Minneapolis
- WILLIAM EDWARD SWANSONLieutenant · April 11, 1965
- MICHAEL JOHN ULICSNIPetty Officer First Class · September 8, 1964
- DENNIS LEROY PIERSONPrivate First Class · June 26, 1965
- DON GLENN KNOWLTONWarrant Officer 1 · October 20, 1965
- ROGER MICHAEL MANNIESergeant · October 28, 1965
- TRENT RICHARD POWERSCaptain · October 31, 1965
- DAVID LEONARD UGLANDSecond Lieutenant · November 8, 1965
- WILLIAM MARTIN SAVORENLance Corporal · November 25, 1965
- LAWRENCE FREDRICK RAMAKERSpecialist Four · December 10, 1965
- THOMAS NEWTON SLOANTechnical Sergeant · December 17, 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.