The Wall › Panel 1W › Georgia › James G Kays
JAMES G KAYS
Captain · U.S. Air Force
October 4, 1949 – May 13, 1975
Service recordJames G Kays, of Atlanta, Georgia, served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force. He died on May 13, 1975, in Thailand, at age 25. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 127 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 127
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
- Captain (CAPT)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- 7 AF
- Born
- October 4, 1949
- Home of record
- Atlanta, Georgia (Fulton County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 13, 1975
- Age
- 25
- Country
- Thailand
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — Passenger (MC)
- Aircraft
- CH-53
- Incident
- Uss Mayaguez Capture
Context · from the records
What was happening
23 names on the Wall carry the date May 13, 1975. In May 1975, 42 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “7 AF”, his unit in the record, lost 5 of its members that month.
He died in Thailand while the Mayaguez incident was under way. After Khmer Rouge forces seized the U.S. merchant ship Mayaguez in May 1975, Marines assaulted Koh Tang island; their names are the last on the Wall.
Read the history
Also on Panel 1W, Line 127
- FALEAGAFULA ILAOAStaff Sergeant · May 13, 1975
- MICHAEL D LANESergeant · May 13, 1975
- DENNIS W LONDONSergeant · May 13, 1975
- ROBERT P MATHIASSergeant · May 13, 1975
Same unit, same day
- LAURENCE E FROEHLICHFirst Lieutenant · Panel 1W, Line 126
- GEORGE E MCMULLEN IIITechnical Sergeant · Panel 1W, Line 128
- TOMMY R NEALISSergeant · Panel 1W, Line 128
- ROBERT P WELDONSergeant · Panel 1W, Line 129
From Atlanta
- DAVID NIPPERLance Corporal · November 21, 1964
- JAMES ANTHONY COYAirman First Class · June 11, 1965
- JAMES THARPE BROWN JRPrivate First Class · June 25, 1965
- WESLIE DAVID MEWBORNPetty Officer First Class · September 8, 1964
- DOUGLAS HORACE LEACHSpecialist Four · November 15, 1965
- RONNIE THOMAS MATHISSergeant · November 17, 1965
- GEORGE S MCHELLONSpecialist Four · November 17, 1965
- JAMES CARL WISE JRMajor · December 23, 1965
- CLIFFORD THOMAS JOHNSONPrivate · January 29, 1966
- HARVEY LEWIS BOWEN JRPrivate First Class · February 24, 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.