The WallVietnam Veterans Memorial · The Lake Norman Brief
An AC-47D “Spooky” gunship fires on a target at night over South Vietnam.
An AC-47D “Spooky” gunship fires on a target at night over South Vietnam. Photo: U.S. Air Force, public domain. Shown for the time and place, not a photograph of J C Kelsey.

The Wall › Panel 13E › Michigan › J C Kelsey

J C KELSEY

Airman First Class · U.S. Air Force

March 22, 1936 – December 2, 1966

Service record

J C Kelsey, of Detroit, Michigan, served as an Airman First Class in the U.S. Air Force. He died on December 2, 1966, in Khanh Hoa Province, South Vietnam, at age 30. His name is inscribed on Panel 13E, Line 6 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

On the Wall

Panel 13E · Line 6

Position of Panel 13E on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

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
Airman First Class (A1C)
Service
Regular
Born
March 22, 1936
Home of record
Detroit, Michigan (Wayne County)

Casualty

Date of death
December 2, 1966
Age
30
Province
Khanh Hoa
Country
South Vietnam
Casualty type
Non-hostile
Category
Accident
Circumstance
Vehicle Crash (MC)

Context · from the records

What was happening

27 names on the Wall carry the date December 2, 1966; he was the only one lost in Khanh Hoa Province that day. In December 1966, 533 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.

Also on Panel 13E, Line 6

From Detroit

All 525 names from Detroit →

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.