The Wall › Panel 2W › Kansas › Michael Leo Donovan
MICHAEL LEO DONOVAN
Captain · U.S. Air Force
November 9, 1944 – September 30, 1971
Service recordMichael Leo Donovan, of Norton, Kansas, served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on September 30, 1971, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 2W, Line 31 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 2W · 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
- Regular
- Occupation
- Pilot (1115R)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 421 TFS
- Born
- November 9, 1944
- Home of record
- Norton, Kansas (Norton County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- September 30, 1971
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
Ten names on the Wall carry the date September 30, 1971. In September 1971, 127 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
Also on Panel 2W, Line 31
- RONALD LESLIE BONDCaptain · September 30, 1971
- FREDERICK CONRAD HEBERTWarrant Officer 1 · September 30, 1971
- GEORGE WAYNE KAMENICKYFirst Lieutenant · September 30, 1971
- RONALD GLENN RICKSSpecialist Four · September 30, 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.