The Wall › Panel 2W › Maryland › James Kenneth Caniford
JAMES KENNETH CANIFORD
Senior Master Sergeant · U.S. Air Force
August 26, 1948 – March 29, 1972
Service recordJames Kenneth Caniford, of Frederick, Maryland, served as a Senior Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on March 29, 1972, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 2W, Line 121 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 2W · Line 121
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
- Senior Master Sergeant (SMSGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- 16 SOS 8 TFW
- Born
- August 26, 1948
- Home of record
- Frederick, Maryland (Frederick County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- March 29, 1972
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
18 names on the Wall carry the date March 29, 1972. In March 1972, 69 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “16 SOS 8 TFW”, his unit in the record, lost 5 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 2W, Line 121
- LARRY BATTSPrivate First Class · March 29, 1972
- HENRY PAUL BRAUNERLieutenant Colonel · March 29, 1972
- RICHARD CASTILLOLieutenant Colonel · March 29, 1972
- OLLIE EDWARD CRENSHAW JRSpecialist Four · March 29, 1972
Same unit, same day
- HENRY PAUL BRAUNERLieutenant Colonel · Panel 2W, Line 121
- CURTIS DANIEL MILLERMajor · Panel 2W, Line 122
- HOWARD DAVID STEPHENSONLieutenant Colonel · Panel 2W, Line 123
- BARCLAY BINGHAM YOUNGMajor · Panel 2W, Line 124
From Frederick
- ROBERT EARL SMITH JRHospitalman · May 15, 1966
- DANIEL SPENSER BRITTAINSecond Lieutenant · May 30, 1966
- WILSON LEE COOKSpecialist Four · February 27, 1967
- GARY WAYNE COSGRAVEAirman Second Class · May 12, 1967
- CHARLES FRANK BRANDENBURGPrivate First Class · August 5, 1967
- JOHN FRANCIS PLUNKARDSergeant · April 8, 1968
- WILLIAM E ZIMMERMAN JRFirst Lieutenant · April 28, 1968
- MICHAEL LEON BREWERSpecialist Five · May 9, 1968
- JOHN WILLIAM GRASERSpecialist Four · May 27, 1968
- HAROLD FRANKLIN KLINESergeant First Class · August 24, 1968
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.