The WallVietnam Veterans Memorial · The Lake Norman Brief
F-105D Thunderchiefs refuel from a KC-135 on the way to North Vietnam, about 1966.
F-105D Thunderchiefs refuel from a KC-135 on the way to North Vietnam, about 1966. Photo: U.S. Air Force, public domain. Shown for the time and place, not a photograph of Ronald Runyan King.

The Wall › Panel 27E › California › Ronald Runyan King

RONALD RUNYAN KING

Lieutenant Colonel · U.S. Air Force

November 1, 1926 – October 3, 1967

Service record

Ronald Runyan King, of Santa Cruz, California, served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He died on October 3, 1967, in North Vietnam, at age 40. His name is inscribed on Panel 27E, Line 44 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

On the Wall

Panel 27E · Line 44

Position of Panel 27E on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

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
Unit (as recorded)
333 TFG SQ
Born
November 1, 1926
Home of record
Santa Cruz, California (Santa Cruz County)

Casualty

Date of death
October 3, 1967
Age
40
Country
North Vietnam
Casualty type
Non-hostile
Category
Accident
Circumstance
Aircraft Crash — crew
Remains
Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record

Context · from the records

What was happening

21 names on the Wall carry the date October 3, 1967. In October 1967, 906 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.

He died in North Vietnam while Operation Rolling Thunder was under way. Operation Rolling Thunder (March 1965–November 1968) was the sustained U.S. bombing campaign against North Vietnam, flown by Air Force fighter-bombers from Thailand and Navy aircraft from carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin against some of the densest air defenses in the world.

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.

Also on Panel 27E, Line 44

From Santa Cruz

All 19 names from Santa Cruz →

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.