The Wall › Panel 1W › Arkansas › James Lathon
JAMES LATHON
Sergeant · U.S. Air Force
May 17, 1949 – May 17, 1972
Service recordJames Lathon, of Earle, Arkansas, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. He died on May 17, 1972, in Thailand, at age 23. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 27 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 27
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
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Born
- May 17, 1949
- Home of record
- Earle, Arkansas (Crittenden County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 17, 1972
- Age
- 23
- Country
- Thailand
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Unknown
Context · from the records
What was happening
Six names on the Wall carry the date May 17, 1972. In May 1972, 113 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The record places this loss in Thailand, outside South Vietnam.
Also on Panel 1W, Line 27
- JOSEPH PAUL NOLAN JRCaptain · May 16, 1971
- CYRIL HYMAN MADISONSpecialist Four · May 17, 1972
- DAVID LEE WAGNERTechnical Sergeant · May 17, 1972
- JONATHAN BRUCE BEDNAREKCaptain · May 18, 1972
From Earle
- ROBERT TAYLOR HARRISPrivate First Class · June 17, 1967
- ELI J B KINGLance Corporal · June 22, 1967
- JOHN WASHINGTONPrivate First Class · January 20, 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.