The Wall › Panel 1W › Kentucky › John Michael Cole
JOHN MICHAEL COLE
First Lieutenant · U.S. Air Force
December 16, 1947 – July 2, 1972
Service recordJohn Michael Cole, of Williamsburg, Kentucky, served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. He died on July 2, 1972, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 24. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 51 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · 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. Air Force
- Rank
- First Lieutenant (1STLT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Unit (as recorded)
- 7 AF
- Born
- December 16, 1947
- Home of record
- Williamsburg, Kentucky (Whitley County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- July 2, 1972
- Age
- 24
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
Two names on the Wall carry the date July 2, 1972; he was the only one lost in Thừa Thiên Province that day. In July 1972, 53 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “7 AF”, his unit in the record, lost 2 of its members that month.
He died in Thừa Thiên Province while the Easter Offensive was under way. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched its largest offensive since 1968, attacking across the DMZ, toward An Lộc and into the Central Highlands. By then few U.S. ground troops remained; American advisers and air power fought alongside the South Vietnamese.
Also on Panel 1W, Line 51
- STEVEN LOGAN BENNETTCaptain · June 29, 1972
- PERCY GUY BROCK JRSergeant First Class · June 29, 1972
- STEPHEN MARK WHITESpecialist Five · June 30, 1972
- ROGER MYERS SMELSERPetty Officer Third Class · July 2, 1972
From Williamsburg
- DOUGLAS MCARTHUR WETMORESpecialist Four · February 1, 1966
- GLEN EVERETT ROUNTREEStaff Sergeant · January 13, 1969
- BILLY RAY SARGENTSpecialist Four · June 20, 1970
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.