The Wall › Panel 40W › West Virginia › John Derral Thomas
JOHN DERRAL THOMAS
Technical Sergeant · U.S. Air Force
May 2, 1932 – October 21, 1968
Service recordJohn Derral Thomas, of Lester, West Virginia, served as a Technical Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. He died on October 21, 1968, in Darlac Province, South Vietnam, at age 36. His name is inscribed on Panel 40W, Line 16 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 40W · Line 16
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
- Technical Sergeant (TSGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Born
- May 2, 1932
- Home of record
- Lester, West Virginia (Raleigh County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- October 21, 1968
- Age
- 36
- Province
- Darlac
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
40 names on the Wall carry the date October 21, 1968; 23 of them were lost in Darlac Province. In October 1968, 821 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
Also on Panel 40W, Line 16
- RICHARD WILLIAM STRONG JRWarrant Officer 1 · October 21, 1968
- HOWARD ELMER VANVLIETLieutenant Colonel · October 21, 1968
- RALPH ROBERT WENSINGERCaptain · October 21, 1968
- ROBERT RICHARD WRIGHT JRFirst Lieutenant · October 21, 1968
From Lester
- EWELL EDGEL ACORDStaff Sergeant · May 1, 1967
- HERBERT OHLERSergeant First Class · May 10, 1971
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.