The Wall › Panel 1W › Texas › Francis Wayne Townsend
FRANCIS WAYNE TOWNSEND
Captain · U.S. Air Force
April 24, 1948 – August 13, 1972
Service recordFrancis Wayne Townsend, of Rusk, Texas, served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on August 13, 1972, in North Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 66 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 66
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
- Captain (CAPT)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Weapon Systems Officer (1555D)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 14 TAC RECON SQ UDORN AB
- Born
- April 24, 1948
- Home of record
- Rusk, Texas (Cherokee County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- August 13, 1972
- 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
Two names on the Wall carry the date August 13, 1972. In August 1972, 41 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in North Vietnam while the Easter Offensive was under way. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched its largest offensive since 1968, attacking across the DMZ, toward An Lộc and into the Central Highlands. By then few U.S. ground troops remained; American advisers and air power fought alongside the South Vietnamese.
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 1W, Line 66
- DAVID MATHEW THOMPSONLieutenant · August 13, 1972
- JOSEPH EDWARD FRASHERAirman Apprentice · August 14, 1972
- RONNIE HOLLYSpecialist Four · August 14, 1972
- ALLAN WILLIAM HOLMESSpecialist Four · August 14, 1972
From Rusk
- WILLIAM EDWARD SMITHPlatoon Sergeant · May 29, 1968
- DONALD HENRY MABRYCaptain · August 7, 1968
- LOEL FLOYD LARGENTSergeant · April 10, 1969
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.