The Wall › Panel 1W › Oregon › Mason Irwin Burnham
MASON IRWIN BURNHAM
Captain · U.S. Air Force
September 19, 1943 – April 20, 1972
Service recordMason Irwin Burnham, of Portland, Oregon, served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on April 20, 1972, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 4 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 4
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
- Weapon Systems Officer (1555C)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 421 TFS
- Born
- September 19, 1943
- Home of record
- Portland, Oregon (Multnomah County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- April 20, 1972
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
Context · from the records
What was happening
Five names on the Wall carry the date April 20, 1972. In April 1972, 106 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “421 TFS”, his unit in the record, lost 2 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
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 1W, Line 4
- THOMAS HUGH AMOSMajor · April 20, 1972
- WILBUR HERBERT CHILDRESSSergeant Major · April 20, 1972
- JOHN JOSEPH STEGELAND IIISeaman · April 20, 1972
- CHARLES TURNERSpecialist Four · April 20, 1972
Same unit, same day
- THOMAS HUGH AMOSMajor · Panel 1W, Line 4
From Portland
- RICHARD DALE BENZELSergeant First Class · December 6, 1962
- GEORGE WILLIAM WATSONSpecialist Five · December 18, 1963
- HAROLD JAMES ROBERTS JRMaster Sergeant · June 18, 1965
- TYRRELL GORDON LOWRYCaptain · June 18, 1965
- WILLIAM JOHN LAGRANDChief Warrant Officer 2 · September 5, 1965
- LARRY ALAN LINDSEYPrivate First Class · September 6, 1965
- DONALD WALTER LOVETTSpecialist Four · December 8, 1965
- DAVID JOHN BYSTEDTLance Corporal · January 11, 1966
- RAYMOND EARL BROWNLance Corporal · January 12, 1966
- JAMES LEE GARDNERCorporal · February 2, 1966
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.