The Wall › Panel 21E › Washington › Joy Leonard Owens
JOY LEONARD OWENS
Colonel · U.S. Air Force
July 6, 1929 – June 7, 1967
Service recordJoy Leonard Owens, of Seattle, Washington, served as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on June 7, 1967, in North Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 21E, Line 70 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 21E · Line 70
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 (1323F)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 11 TRS 432 TFW
- Born
- July 6, 1929
- Home of record
- Seattle, Washington (King County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- June 7, 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
39 names on the Wall carry the date June 7, 1967. In June 1967, 948 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 21E, Line 70
- KENNETH PURCELL NEWTONSergeant · June 7, 1967
- WAYNE MONROE PITTSPrivate First Class · June 7, 1967
- HAROLD REEVES SALE JRCaptain · June 7, 1967
- FRANK JOSEPH SHOVLINPrivate First Class · June 7, 1967
From Seattle
- RICHARD WEBB GEYERMajor · July 6, 1963
- HARRY ALLEN WALLINGSergeant · June 19, 1964
- WILLIAM ROBERT HAMLINSpecialist Five · December 8, 1964
- BERNARD WAYNE DIBBERTLieutenant Colonel · June 1, 1965
- MOON WAI LOCKSpecialist Four · June 28, 1965
- WALTER JOHN ZIMMERPrivate First Class · August 23, 1965
- ROBERT FRANKLIN BARBERLieutenant · September 18, 1965
- STEPHEN GOULD RICHARDSONLieutenant (junior grade) · November 30, 1965
- JACOB DRUMMOND LOGANLieutenant (junior grade) · December 2, 1965
- DANIEL JOHN GUILMETPrivate First Class · December 18, 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.