The Wall › Panel 1W › California › John Wilburn Adams
JOHN WILBURN ADAMS
Captain · U.S. Air Force
June 2, 1940 – May 17, 1972
Service recordJohn Wilburn Adams, of Redondo Beach, California, served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force. He died on May 17, 1972, in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, at age 31. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 25 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 25
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
- Captain (CAPT)
- Service
- Regular
- Born
- June 2, 1940
- Home of record
- Redondo Beach, California (Los Angeles County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 17, 1972
- Age
- 31
- Province
- Kontum
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
Context · from the records
What was happening
Six names on the Wall carry the date May 17, 1972; three of them were lost in Kon Tum Province. In May 1972, 113 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Kon Tum 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 25
- DENNIS CLARKE CRESSEYCaptain · May 12, 1972
- WILLIAM HENRY OSTERMEYERCaptain · May 12, 1972
- THOMAS J WILEYFirst Lieutenant · May 13, 1972
- RALPH PETER DUPONT JRLieutenant · May 16, 1972
From Redondo Beach
- EDMUND FRANCIS THORNELLCaptain · September 10, 1966
- PHILIP HARRY JOHNSONPrivate First Class · February 2, 1967
- EDWARD ARTHUR PAINEPetty Officer Third Class · May 17, 1967
- GREGORY RAY GINGERICHPetty Officer Second Class · May 25, 1967
- ROGER MILTON POIRIERSergeant · August 2, 1967
- CHRISTIAN LARS WILLIAMSPrivate First Class · October 2, 1967
- GARY MICHAEL DIAZCorporal · February 4, 1968
- ROBERT JOSEPH NARDELLISpecialist Four · February 9, 1968
- BARRY WAYNE HOOPERLieutenant · March 5, 1968
- KARL LUCASStaff Sergeant · April 25, 1968
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.