The Wall › Panel 42E › Tennessee › John Thomas Welshan
JOHN THOMAS WELSHAN
Major · U.S. Air Force
February 5, 1942 – March 3, 1968
Service recordJohn Thomas Welshan, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, served as a Major in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on March 3, 1968, in An Xugen Province, South Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 42E, Line 59 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 42E · Line 59
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
- Major (MAJ)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Pilot (1115Z)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 604 ACS
- Born
- February 5, 1942
- Home of record
- Oak Ridge, Tennessee (Multiple County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- March 3, 1968
- Province
- An Xugen
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
65 names on the Wall carry the date March 3, 1968; he was the only one lost in An Xugen Province that day. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in An Xugen Province while the Tet Offensive was under way. Beginning on the night of 30–31 January 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces attacked more than 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. February 1968 was the deadliest month of the war for Americans.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 42E, Line 59
- JAMES EARL WILLIAMSCorporal · March 3, 1968
- RAY HOUSTON WOODSSpecialist Four · March 3, 1968
- RANDALL LEE YOUNGPetty Officer Third Class · March 3, 1968
- ROBERT WILLIAM ABERNATHYSpecialist Four · March 4, 1968
From Oak Ridge
- GERALD WAYNE DAVIDSONFirst Lieutenant · June 29, 1964
- BENJAMIN LEE IVPrivate First Class · March 17, 1966
- JOSEPH KEITH BRADLEYLance Corporal · September 6, 1967
- HOYLE TERRY JRPrivate First Class · March 26, 1968
- GREGORY JOHN WEBERLance Corporal · October 7, 1968
- RONALD EDWARD HIBBARDPrivate First Class · October 9, 1968
- MICHEAL ROGER BAKERPrivate First Class · December 3, 1968
- SAMUEL EARL ASHERCaptain · April 26, 1970
- LUTHER EUGENE DAVISStaff Sergeant · May 25, 1970
- JEFF THOMAS BARNETT SRGunnery Sergeant · January 16, 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.