The Wall › Panel 10W › Michigan › Melvin Ray Thomas
MELVIN RAY THOMAS
Sergeant · U.S. Army
January 3, 1950 – May 15, 1970
Service recordMelvin Ray Thomas, of Ada, Michigan, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on May 15, 1970, in Cambodia, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 10W, Line 48 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 10W · Line 48
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
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Carpentry And Masonry Specialist (51B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- January 3, 1950
- Home of record
- Ada, Michigan (Kent County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 15, 1970
- Age
- 20
- Country
- Cambodia
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Died of Wounds
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — Passenger (MC)
Context · from the records
What was happening
16 names on the Wall carry the date May 15, 1970. In May 1970, 917 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 127 of its members that month.
He died in Cambodia while the Cambodian incursion was under way. From 29 April to 30 June 1970, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces crossed into Cambodia to attack North Vietnamese base areas and supply caches; the announcement set off campus protests, including at Kent State.
Also on Panel 10W, Line 48
- GEORGE WILLIE BEAL JRPrivate · May 16, 1970
- LESTER EARL BUNNERSergeant First Class · May 16, 1970
- DAVID LYN CHRISTOPHERSONCorporal · May 16, 1970
- EDWIN RAY CONNERSenior Chief Petty Officer · May 16, 1970
Same unit, same day
- ARNOLD LEE ROBBINSSergeant First Class · Panel 10W, Line 47
- JOHN RICHARD STINNSpecialist Four · Panel 10W, Line 47
From Ada
- JAMES JOSEPH HEETHER IIPrivate First Class · September 19, 1966
- ABE RICHARD DEYOUNGSpecialist Four · May 2, 1967
- RANDALL CRAIG VANHAITSMACorporal · May 20, 1970
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.