The Wall › Panel 32E › Ohio › Gerald Gordon Vanburen
GERALD GORDON VANBUREN
Lieutenant Colonel · U.S. Air Force
June 8, 1935 – December 29, 1967
Service recordGerald Gordon Vanburen, of Toledo, Ohio, served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on December 29, 1967, in North Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 32E, Line 97 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 32E · Line 97
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
- Lieutenant Colonel (LTCOL)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Unit (as recorded)
- DET 1 314 TAW
- Born
- June 8, 1935
- Home of record
- Toledo, Ohio (Lucas County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- December 29, 1967
- 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
41 names on the Wall carry the date December 29, 1967. In December 1967, 937 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “DET 1 314 TAW”, his unit in the record, lost 7 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 32E, Line 97
- BRUCE JONATHAN ROTHLance Corporal · December 29, 1967
- JONATHAN PETER SHAFFERWarrant Officer 1 · December 29, 1967
- DENNIS CAROL SMITHPrivate First Class · December 29, 1967
- MILTON WARREN SMITHWarrant Officer 1 · December 29, 1967
Same unit, same day
- DONALD ELLIS FISHERColonel · Panel 32E, Line 93
- JACK MCCRARYChief Master Sergeant · Panel 32E, Line 95
- EDWIN NELMS OSBORNE JRLieutenant Colonel · Panel 32E, Line 96
- FRANK C PARKER IIIMajor · Panel 32E, Line 96
- GORDON JAMES WENAASLieutenant Colonel · Panel 33E, Line 1
- JAMES RANDALL WILLIAMSSenior Master Sergeant · Panel 33E, Line 1
From Toledo
- THOMAS FREDERICK GORTONCaptain · December 6, 1963
- BARRY NEWTON HAMBLETONPrivate First Class · August 24, 1965
- ROBERT TAFT HANSON JRLieutenant Commander · February 3, 1966
- CARLOS DENNIS JELKSPrivate First Class · February 14, 1966
- LAMAR DONALD FREDERICKPrivate First Class · February 26, 1966
- DENNIS W MALEWSKISergeant · March 9, 1966
- MICHAEL OWEN GATWOODPrivate First Class · May 20, 1966
- JAMES THOMAS LANGLOISSpecialist Four · August 15, 1966
- BYRON NELSON LUDWIGPrivate First Class · August 15, 1966
- WILLIE JAMES TUCKERPrivate First Class · August 20, 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.