The Wall › Panel 7E › Colorado › Frank Delzell Ralston III
FRANK DELZELL RALSTON III
Major · U.S. Air Force
March 2, 1941 – May 14, 1966
Service recordFrank Delzell Ralston III, of Denver, Colorado, served as a Major in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on May 14, 1966, in North Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 7E, Line 60 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 7E · Line 60
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
- Major (MAJ)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Pilot (1115R)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 433 TFS
- Born
- March 2, 1941
- Home of record
- Denver, Colorado (Denver County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- May 14, 1966
- Country
- North 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
16 names on the Wall carry the date May 14, 1966. In May 1966, 595 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “433 TFS”, his unit in the record, lost 2 of its members that month.
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 7E, Line 60
- WILLIAM WESLEY PIERCESpecialist Four · May 14, 1966
- JAMES FRANCIS SMALLWOODLance Corporal · May 14, 1966
- DARYL KENNETH STANNARDSergeant First Class · May 14, 1966
- CURTIS LEE WATSON JRCorporal · May 14, 1966
Same unit, same day
- DONALD LEWIS KINGColonel · Panel 7E, Line 59
From Denver
- BRIAN KAY SKINNERFirst Lieutenant · December 9, 1964
- MORRIS OLEN MUSICK JRLance Corporal · August 20, 1965
- DUANE WHITNEY MARTINCaptain · September 20, 1965
- JACK BRIAN LEAFPrivate First Class · August 24, 1965
- ERNEST CALVIN KELLYPrivate First Class · January 1, 1966
- FRANKIE LEYBA VARGASPrivate First Class · January 15, 1966
- RADFORD DOUGLAS HOGANSergeant · January 25, 1966
- FRANK SCOT CRISMONLieutenant · December 30, 1964
- ELOY DURANStaff Sergeant · February 14, 1966
- THOMAS WILLIAM STASKOCaptain · February 18, 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.