The Wall › Panel 6E › Mississippi › Lester Jefferson Thornell
LESTER JEFFERSON THORNELL
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
November 22, 1942 – April 2, 1966
Service recordLester Jefferson Thornell, of Cleveland, Mississippi, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on April 2, 1966, in South Vietnam, at age 23. His name is inscribed on Panel 6E, Line 78 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 6E · Line 78
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. Army
- Rank
- Specialist Four (SP4)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 25 INF DIV
- Born
- November 22, 1942
- Home of record
- Cleveland, Mississippi (Bolivar County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 2, 1966
- Age
- 23
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
32 names on the Wall carry the date April 2, 1966. In April 1966, 406 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 25th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 61 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 6E, Line 78
- MICHAEL KELLY MCGUIREAirman · February 16, 1966
- KEITH LEROY SHIPPPrivate First Class · April 2, 1966
- JIMMY B TAYLORSergeant · April 2, 1966
- FELIBERTO VILLAPrivate First Class · April 2, 1966
- HENRY MITCHELL VINSONSpecialist Four · April 2, 1966
Same unit, same day
- CURTIS EUGENE DORRISSergeant · Panel 6E, Line 73
- GEORGE STEVE FRANKLINSpecialist Four · Panel 6E, Line 74
- ALLEN L HIGGINBOTHANSpecialist Four · Panel 6E, Line 75
- KEITH LEROY SHIPPPrivate First Class · Panel 6E, Line 78
- JIMMY B TAYLORSergeant · Panel 6E, Line 78
From Cleveland
- BILLY FRANK HARPERCorporal · February 12, 1969
- TERRY EDWARD THARPPetty Officer Third Class · March 15, 1969
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.