The Wall › Panel 51E › Tennessee › Russell Lee Thompson
RUSSELL LEE THOMPSON
Sergeant · U.S. Army
May 23, 1948 – April 19, 1968
Service recordRussell Lee Thompson, of Memphis, Tennessee, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on April 19, 1968, in Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 51E, Line 3 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 51E · Line 3
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
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 INF DIV
- Born
- May 23, 1948
- Home of record
- Memphis, Tennessee (Shelby County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 19, 1968
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Binh Duong
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
67 names on the Wall carry the date April 19, 1968; nine of them were lost in Bình Dương Province. In April 1968, 1,580 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 79 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 51E, Line 3
- WILLIS WILSON SMITH JRWarrant Officer 1 · April 19, 1968
- LAWRENCE JAMES SNYDERCorporal · April 19, 1968
- TOMMY LEE TAYLORPrivate First Class · April 19, 1968
- PERVIS B VALENTINE JRCorporal · April 19, 1968
Same unit, same day
- CHARLES C BEARDPrivate First Class · Panel 50E, Line 44
- DAVID KIM DEETERPrivate First Class · Panel 50E, Line 45
- KEVEN THOMAS DIREENPrivate First Class · Panel 50E, Line 46
- WILLFORD LEON DYERStaff Sergeant · Panel 50E, Line 46
- JUAN GOMEZ-RIVERASpecialist Four · Panel 50E, Line 47
- DENNIS RAY HARTPENCEPrivate First Class · Panel 50E, Line 48
- JOHN LEE KOEBKESpecialist Four · Panel 50E, Line 49
- EDWARD THOMAS MELLO JRFirst Lieutenant · Panel 50E, Line 50
- JERRY VERNON MCDONALDPrivate First Class · Panel 50E, Line 51
- JENIES ISAAC MOBLEYSergeant · Panel 50E, Line 51
- TOMMY LEE TAYLORPrivate First Class · Panel 51E, Line 3
- FREDDIE WHITAKERStaff Sergeant · Panel 51E, Line 4
From Memphis
- JESSE ALEXANDER GRAYSergeant First Class · June 12, 1964
- ANDREW DAYTON PARKER JRMajor · June 18, 1965
- JOHN CARLOS HARRISSergeant · July 21, 1965
- WALTER LEWIS SMITHPrivate First Class · August 19, 1965
- CLAUDE TALBERT JRPrivate First Class · October 8, 1965
- WILLIAM CLYDE HARPERSergeant · October 10, 1965
- DANIEL DAVID HARDENSergeant · November 1, 1965
- RANDLE TOM WOODSLance Corporal · November 6, 1965
- KELLY EUGENE WHITAKERPrivate First Class · November 8, 1965
- MELVIN FRANK FORTSpecialist Four · November 17, 1965
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.