The Wall › Panel 27W › New York › Thomas Emanuel Best
THOMAS EMANUEL BEST
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
December 12, 1948 – April 5, 1969
Service recordThomas Emanuel Best, of New York, New York, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on April 5, 1969, in Binh Long Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 27W, Line 14 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 27W · Line 14
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
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- December 12, 1948
- Home of record
- New York, New York (Kings County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 5, 1969
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Binh Long
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
43 names on the Wall carry the date April 5, 1969; he was the only one lost in Binh Long Province that day. In April 1969, 1,023 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 87 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 27W, Line 14
- CHARLIE RAY MCDONALDSpecialist Four · April 4, 1969
- WILLIAM DAVID TYRONCorporal · April 4, 1969
- DAVID BRUCE ANDERSONSpecialist Four · April 5, 1969
- STEPHEN EDWIN BELCHERLance Corporal · April 5, 1969
From New York
- WALTER R MCCARTHY JRCaptain · June 16, 1962
- JOHN HOWARD MCCLEANCaptain · August 16, 1963
- DONALD ALLAN MOLLICONEFirst Lieutenant · December 20, 1963
- VINCENT JOSEPH HICKMANCaptain · January 14, 1964
- MARTIN STOCKFEDERPrivate First Class · July 15, 1964
- ROBERT GEORGE ARMSTRONGFirst Lieutenant · October 24, 1964
- DOMINICK SANSONESergeant First Class · December 10, 1964
- DONALD GILBERT COOKColonel · December 31, 1964
- TERENCE MEREDITH MURPHYLieutenant (junior grade) · April 9, 1965
- ROBERT CARL WISTRANDColonel · May 9, 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.