The Wall › Panel 1W › Tennessee › Joseph Clifford Hopper
JOSEPH CLIFFORD HOPPER
Staff Sergeant · U.S. Air Force
October 11, 1947 – May 3, 1972
Service recordJoseph Clifford Hopper, of Memphis, Tennessee, served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. He died on May 3, 1972, in Binh Long Province, South Vietnam, at age 24. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 12 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 12
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
- Staff Sergeant (SSGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Born
- October 11, 1947
- Home of record
- Memphis, Tennessee (Shelby County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 3, 1972
- Age
- 24
- Province
- Binh Long
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
Context · from the records
What was happening
Eight names on the Wall carry the date May 3, 1972; five of them were lost in Binh Long Province. In May 1972, 113 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Binh Long 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 12
- DALE KYETTE PORTERFIELDSpecialist Four · May 2, 1972
- DAVID RODDY SLAGLECaptain · May 2, 1972
- JOSEPH WILLIAM MCDONALDMajor · May 3, 1972
- THOMAS CARL WIDERQUISTFirst Lieutenant · May 3, 1972
From Memphis
- JESSE ALEXANDER GRAYSergeant First Class · June 12, 1964
- ANDREW DAYTON PARKER JRMajor · June 18, 1965
- JOHN CARLOS HARRISSergeant · July 21, 1965
- WALTER LEWIS SMITHPrivate First Class · August 19, 1965
- CLAUDE TALBERT JRPrivate First Class · October 8, 1965
- WILLIAM CLYDE HARPERSergeant · October 10, 1965
- DANIEL DAVID HARDENSergeant · November 1, 1965
- RANDLE TOM WOODSLance Corporal · November 6, 1965
- KELLY EUGENE WHITAKERPrivate First Class · November 8, 1965
- MELVIN FRANK FORTSpecialist Four · November 17, 1965
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.