The Wall › Panel 26E › California › Rufus Alfonzo Thomas JR
RUFUS ALFONZO THOMAS JR
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
May 12, 1946 – September 19, 1967
Service recordRufus Alfonzo Thomas JR, of San Bernardino, California, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on September 19, 1967, in Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 26E, Line 94 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 26E · Line 94
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
- Specialist Four (SP4)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Tactical Wire Operations Specialist (36K)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- May 12, 1946
- Home of record
- San Bernardino, California (San Bernardino County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- September 19, 1967
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Quang Tin
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Died of Wounds
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
22 names on the Wall carry the date September 19, 1967; seven of them were lost in Quảng Tín Province. In September 1967, 929 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 39 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 26E, Line 94
- DAVID EDWARD RALPHSpecialist Four · September 19, 1967
- DAVID LEE SCHOUWEILERPrivate First Class · September 19, 1967
- PIERRE ANATOLE THREETPrivate First Class · September 19, 1967
- WILBERT A TYNES JRStaff Sergeant · September 19, 1967
Same unit, same day
- DAVID EDWARD RALPHSpecialist Four · Panel 26E, Line 94
- JAMES LIONEL WOODSON JRPrivate First Class · Panel 26E, Line 95
From San Bernardino
- ELGIN LEROY STIRLINGPrivate First Class · July 12, 1965
- FRANK COSME ALCANTARLance Corporal · September 26, 1965
- ROY HOWARD BOWLINGCaptain · November 17, 1965
- FEDERICO SILVALance Corporal · December 18, 1965
- DENNIS DONALD BACKENPrivate First Class · August 24, 1965
- RICHARD RANGELSpecialist Four · February 23, 1966
- LOUIS PETER HERNANDEZPrivate First Class · March 5, 1966
- DAVID LEE FORCESecond Lieutenant · March 9, 1966
- GABRIEL GALLEGOSPrivate First Class · June 20, 1966
- AGAPITO MOLINA JRCorporal · July 27, 1966
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.
