The Wall › Panel 16E › West Virginia › Joseph Clair Austin
JOSEPH CLAIR AUSTIN
Colonel · U.S. Air Force
June 30, 1929 – March 19, 1967
Service recordJoseph Clair Austin, of Moundsville, West Virginia, served as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on March 19, 1967, in North Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 16E, Line 109 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 16E · Line 109
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
- Colonel (COL)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Pilot (1115E)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 34 TFS KORAT AB
- Born
- June 30, 1929
- Home of record
- Moundsville, West Virginia (Marshall County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- March 19, 1967
- Country
- North 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
43 names on the Wall carry the date March 19, 1967. In March 1967, 1,091 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in North Vietnam while Operation Rolling Thunder was under way. Operation Rolling Thunder (March 1965–November 1968) was the sustained U.S. bombing campaign against North Vietnam, flown by Air Force fighter-bombers from Thailand and Navy aircraft from carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin against some of the densest air defenses in the world.
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 16E, Line 109
- FRANK LUTHER HUDDLESTONMaster Sergeant · May 17, 1966
- BENITO ALANIZSergeant · March 19, 1967
- VIRIL LEE AUSTINSpecialist Four · March 19, 1967
- DAVID BAKERLance Corporal · March 19, 1967
- JAMES PAUL BARTONWarrant Officer 1 · March 19, 1967
From Moundsville
- KERMIT HAROLD YOHOSpecialist Four · February 10, 1966
- LOYAL BARON DOTYPetty Officer First Class · February 9, 1968
- LEONARD JOE ZELASKI JRLance Corporal · March 2, 1968
- ROBERT MELVIN LOUGH JRStaff Sergeant · February 23, 1969
- WILLIAM CARL WHITLATCH JRSergeant · December 12, 1969
- GLEN LEE FULLERTONTechnical Sergeant · July 2, 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.