The Wall › Panel 33E › Washington › James D Williamson
JAMES D WILLIAMSON
Sergeant First Class · U.S. Army
September 24, 1942 – January 5, 1968
Service recordJames D Williamson, of Tumwater, Washington, served as a Sergeant First Class in the U.S. Army. He was lost on January 5, 1968, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 33E, Line 54 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 33E · Line 54
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. Army
- Rank
- Sergeant First Class (SFC)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- September 24, 1942
- Home of record
- Tumwater, Washington (Thurston County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- January 5, 1968
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
Context · from the records
What was happening
52 names on the Wall carry the date January 5, 1968. In January 1968, 1,546 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Aviation Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 33 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
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 33E, Line 54
- ROBERT GENE SMOOTCorporal · January 5, 1968
- FRANK BARTH SMYKSpecialist Four · January 5, 1968
- RICHARD OLIVER WILLIAMSLieutenant · January 5, 1968
- FRED MELVIN WRENNSpecialist Four · January 5, 1968
Same unit, same day
- DENNIS CLARK HAMILTONChief Warrant Officer 3 · Panel 33E, Line 49
- SHELDON D SCHULTZChief Warrant Officer 3 · Panel 33E, Line 53
From Tumwater
- DUANE GORDON CORDINERFirst Lieutenant · December 14, 1970
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.