The Wall › Panel 24W › California › John Clarence Williamson
JOHN CLARENCE WILLIAMSON
Major · U.S. Marine Corps
April 28, 1935 – May 18, 1969
Service recordJohn Clarence Williamson, of Oakland, California, served as a Major in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on May 18, 1969, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 34. His name is inscribed on Panel 24W, Line 51 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 24W · Line 51
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. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Major (MAJ)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Kc-130 Aircraft Commander (I) (7557)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 3 MAF
- Born
- April 28, 1935
- Home of record
- Oakland, California (Alameda County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 18, 1969
- Age
- 34
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
81 names on the Wall carry the date May 18, 1969; 29 of them were lost in Thừa Thiên Province. In May 1969, 1,456 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “3 MAF”, his unit in the record, lost 3 of its members that month.
He died in Thừa Thiên Province while the Battle of Hamburger Hill was under way. On Đồng Ấp Bia (Hill 937) in the A Shau Valley (10–20 May 1969), the 101st Airborne Division attacked entrenched North Vietnamese troops for ten days; the soldiers called it “Hamburger Hill.” The heavy losses fed the debate at home over the war’s tactics. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
Read the history
Also on Panel 24W, Line 51
- GARY STEVEN VANNPetty Officer Third Class · May 18, 1969
- JOHN M VOLLMERHAUSEN JRPrivate First Class · May 18, 1969
- CARL JOSEPH WANNERStaff Sergeant · May 18, 1969
- JOSEPH JEREMIAH WILLIAMSSpecialist Four · May 18, 1969
Same unit, same day
- JAMES ALLEN COXCorporal · Panel 24W, Line 38
From Oakland
- CHARLES DARYL KEARNEYLance Corporal · July 8, 1965
- LAURIANO LAWRENCE LOVATOPrivate First Class · October 9, 1965
- WALTER JOHN GELIENChief Petty Officer · October 28, 1965
- FRED LAWER MCPHERSONMajor · January 28, 1966
- WALLACE RAY JACOBSENStaff Sergeant · January 30, 1966
- JOE NEAL JAMESSpecialist Four · February 23, 1966
- DON WILLIAM CHABOTMajor · March 15, 1966
- WALTER GLENN SHULTSLance Corporal · March 21, 1966
- DAVID LEE DODSONPrivate First Class · June 7, 1966
- CHRIS C VURLUMISCaptain · June 8, 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.