The Wall › Panel 15W › Minnesota › Thomas Edward Soma
THOMAS EDWARD SOMA
Specialist Five · U.S. Army
February 23, 1948 – December 30, 1969
Service recordThomas Edward Soma, of Winnebago, Minnesota, served as a Specialist Five in the U.S. Army. He died on December 30, 1969, in Phuoc Long Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 15W, Line 112 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 15W · Line 112
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 Five (SP5)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Utility Helicopter Repairer (67N)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- February 23, 1948
- Home of record
- Winnebago, Minnesota (Faribault County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- December 30, 1969
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Phuoc Long
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — Passenger (MC)
Context · from the records
What was happening
21 names on the Wall carry the date December 30, 1969; four of them were lost in Phuoc Long Province. In December 1969, 509 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 48 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 15W, Line 112
- RICHARD PAUL STOTSBERYStaff Sergeant · December 30, 1969
- GERALD CLIFFORD SWAYZECaptain · December 30, 1969
- JAMES EDWARD TOWNLEY SRPrivate First Class · December 30, 1969
- WILLIAM OREL VAUGHNCorporal · December 30, 1969
Same unit, same day
- JAMES ROBERT DEAN JRSergeant · Panel 15W, Line 109
- WILLIE JAMES DELACROIXSergeant · Panel 15W, Line 109
- ROBERT LEE SMITHPrivate First Class · Panel 15W, Line 111
- GERALD CLIFFORD SWAYZECaptain · Panel 15W, Line 112
- JAMES EDWARD TOWNLEY SRPrivate First Class · Panel 15W, Line 112
From Winnebago
- STEVEN HERNANDEZSpecialist Five · February 20, 1968
- JOHN EDGAR SEVERSONSpecialist Four · March 8, 1968
- PAUL HARLAN KRUSESpecialist Four · October 2, 1969
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.