The Wall › Panel 28E › Illinois › John Thomas Nelson
JOHN THOMAS NELSON
Petty Officer Second Class · U.S. Navy
January 30, 1942 – October 27, 1967
Service recordJohn Thomas Nelson, of Washington, Illinois, served as a Petty Officer Second Class in the U.S. Navy. He died on October 27, 1967, in Bien Hoa Province, South Vietnam, at age 25. His name is inscribed on Panel 28E, Line 85 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 28E · Line 85
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
Did you know him? Family members and friends are invited to share a photograph or a memory. Nothing is posted until it has been reviewed.
Service
- Branch
- U.S. Navy
- Rank
- Petty Officer Second Class (PO2)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Electrician's Mate (EM)
- Born
- January 30, 1942
- Home of record
- Washington, Illinois (Tazewell County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- October 27, 1967
- Age
- 25
- Province
- Bien Hoa
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
60 names on the Wall carry the date October 27, 1967; he was the only one lost in Bien Hoa Province that day. In October 1967, 906 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
Also on Panel 28E, Line 85
- HARRY MERLE MCNALLYSpecialist Four · October 27, 1967
- CURTIS WAYNE PAINTERLance Corporal · October 27, 1967
- MICHAEL PETERSPrivate First Class · October 27, 1967
- MERRICK ROBERT PIERCELance Corporal · October 27, 1967
From Washington
- STANLEY BRUCE SMITHWarrant Officer 1 · March 10, 1968
- JAMES LEE SMITHPrivate First Class · March 13, 1969
- MICHAEL LEIGH STACYWarrant Officer 1 · March 15, 1969
- TERRY DWIGHT MOORESpecialist Four · March 26, 1969
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.