The Wall › Panel 33W › Arkansas › Houston Franklin Thomas
HOUSTON FRANKLIN THOMAS
Lance Corporal · U.S. Marine Corps
October 5, 1949 – February 4, 1969
Service recordHouston Franklin Thomas, of West Memphis, Arkansas, served as a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on February 4, 1969, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 33W, Line 59 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 33W · Line 59
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. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Lance Corporal (LCPL)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Machinegunner (0331)
- Unit (as recorded)
- E CO 2 BN 3 MAR 3 MARDIV
- Born
- October 5, 1949
- Home of record
- West Memphis, Arkansas (Crittenden County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 4, 1969
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Quang Tri
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Died of Wounds
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
39 names on the Wall carry the date February 4, 1969; he was the only one lost in Quảng Trị Province that day. In February 1969, 1,304 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Quảng Trị Province while Operation Dewey Canyon was under way. In Operation Dewey Canyon (22 January–18 March 1969) the 9th Marines struck North Vietnamese base areas in the Đa Krông and A Shau valleys, the last major Marine offensive of the war. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
Read the history
Also on Panel 33W, Line 59
- JOSEPH JOHN SMITHFirst Lieutenant · February 4, 1969
- WILLIAM ALLAN TENNANTSpecialist Four · February 4, 1969
- GERALD LYNN THOMASLance Corporal · February 4, 1969
- JAMES WILLIAM TUCK JRCorporal · February 4, 1969
From West Memphis
- HENRY JOHNSONLance Corporal · October 8, 1967
- CHARLES HERBERT GRAHAMCorporal · February 4, 1968
- OTIS EDWARD ISBELLCorporal · May 16, 1968
- LOUIS BROWNCorporal · April 5, 1969
- RANDALL LYNN HARRISCorporal · February 8, 1971
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.