The Wall › Panel 1W › Virginia › Orvin Clarence Jones JR
ORVIN CLARENCE JONES JR
Lieutenant Colonel · U.S. Air Force
May 17, 1939 – April 16, 1972
Service recordOrvin Clarence Jones JR, of Newport News, Virginia, served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on April 16, 1972, in North Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 1 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 1
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
- Electronic Warfare Officer (1571A)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 17 WWS 388 TFW
- Born
- May 17, 1939
- Home of record
- Newport News, Virginia (Newport News (City) County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- April 16, 1972
- Country
- North Vietnam
- 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
Four names on the Wall carry the date April 16, 1972. In April 1972, 106 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “17 WWS 388 TFW”, his unit in the record, lost 2 of its members that month.
He died in North Vietnam while the Easter Offensive was under way. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched its largest offensive since 1968, attacking across the DMZ, toward An Lộc and into the Central Highlands. By then few U.S. ground troops remained; American advisers and air power fought alongside the South Vietnamese.
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 1
- LARRY ALLEN TRIMBLECaptain · April 15, 1972
- CHARLES DAVID LANDISPrivate First Class · April 16, 1972
- ALAN PAUL MATEJAMajor · April 16, 1972
- ROBERT ALLEN STERLINGPetty Officer Third Class · April 16, 1972
Same unit, same day
- ALAN PAUL MATEJAMajor · Panel 1W, Line 1
From Newport News
- ROBERT ALEXANDER WHITESpecialist Four · February 7, 1966
- ROBERT DECKER PERDUEPrivate First Class · February 24, 1966
- JOSEPH LUTHER ROBINSONSpecialist Four · February 24, 1966
- FREDERICK ALBERT SLEMPLieutenant · February 24, 1966
- ROBERT LEE SMITH JRLance Corporal · March 4, 1966
- CLEVELAND VINESCorporal · May 21, 1966
- DONALD ROBERTS ASHBY SRLieutenant Commander · January 19, 1967
- ALEXANDER VIDALESMaster Sergeant · February 22, 1967
- CHARLES EDWARD MURRAYSergeant · March 4, 1967
- JAMES MILES BRANDON JRPrivate First Class · March 17, 1967
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.