The Wall › Panel 7E › Illinois › Kenneth Deane Thomas JR
KENNETH DEANE THOMAS JR
Captain · U.S. Air Force
September 25, 1940 – May 5, 1966
Service recordKenneth Deane Thomas JR, of Mt Vernon, Illinois, served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on May 5, 1966, in North Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 7E, Line 31 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 7E · Line 31
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
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Pilot (1115E)
- Born
- September 25, 1940
- Home of record
- Mt Vernon, Illinois (Jefferson County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- May 5, 1966
- Country
- North Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
Context · from the records
What was happening
13 names on the Wall carry the date May 5, 1966. In May 1966, 595 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.
Also on Panel 7E, Line 31
- GEORGE LUDWIG STOLLSpecialist Four · May 5, 1966
- BRITT TELL JRPrivate First Class · May 5, 1966
- TONY R ARRIAGASergeant · May 6, 1966
- BARRIE VANE BARNESSpecialist Four · May 6, 1966
From Mt Vernon
- JACK EMANUEL CROUCH JRLance Corporal · September 24, 1966
- JERRY PAUL WITTSpecialist Four · November 1, 1966
- STEPHEN JAY SMITHPrivate First Class · October 9, 1967
- LEONARD JEFFREY RICHARDSPrivate First Class · November 20, 1967
- FREDRICK HALL BECKMEYERPetty Officer Third Class · February 4, 1968
- EDWARD WAYNE PIGGSergeant · May 11, 1968
- CARL EDWARD PILKINGTON SRSergeant Major · April 25, 1969
- RONALD WAYNE STEWARTPrivate First Class · March 14, 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.