The Wall › Panel 41W › Washington › Michael John Masterson
MICHAEL JOHN MASTERSON
Lieutenant Colonel · U.S. Air Force
May 16, 1937 – October 13, 1968
Service recordMichael John Masterson, of Ephrata, Washington, served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on October 13, 1968, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 41W, Line 61 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 41W · Line 61
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
- Lieutenant Colonel (LTCOL)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Pilot (1115J)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 602 SOP SQ
- Born
- May 16, 1937
- Home of record
- Ephrata, Washington (Grant County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- October 13, 1968
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
Context · from the records
What was happening
28 names on the Wall carry the date October 13, 1968. In October 1968, 821 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
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 41W, Line 61
- JOHN PETER PELLEGRINOSergeant · October 13, 1968
- RICHARD JOHN PRICEPrivate First Class · October 13, 1968
- AMAND RICHARD CARL SAINTPrivate First Class · October 13, 1968
- ROBERT JOHN BONNICIPrivate First Class · October 14, 1968
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.