The Wall › Panel 61W › Maryland › Thomas Nelson Blades
THOMAS NELSON BLADES
Staff Sergeant · U.S. Army
November 19, 1942 – June 3, 1968
Service recordThomas Nelson Blades, of Easton, Maryland, served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on June 3, 1968, in Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam, at age 25. His name is inscribed on Panel 61W, Line 20 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 61W · Line 20
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
- Staff Sergeant (SSG)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 198 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- November 19, 1942
- Home of record
- Easton, Maryland (Talbot County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- June 3, 1968
- Age
- 25
- Province
- Quang Tin
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Artillery/Mortar/Rocket
Context · from the records
What was happening
61 names on the Wall carry the date June 3, 1968; five of them were lost in Quảng Tín Province. In June 1968, 1,257 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 198th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 27 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 61W, Line 20
- MICHAEL JAMES BECKLance Corporal · June 3, 1968
- JAMES EVERRETT BELLFireman · June 3, 1968
- STEVEN CLARENCE BUSHCorporal · June 3, 1968
- TERRY LOUIS FYOCKSpecialist Four · June 3, 1968
Same unit, same day
- DAVID ARMAND PROVOSTSergeant · Panel 60W, Line 4
- ANDREW JACKSON THOMASSpecialist Four · Panel 60W, Line 6
- MICHAEL LUND WILSONSecond Lieutenant · Panel 60W, Line 7
From Easton
- GANNON CLARK MILBY JRStaff Sergeant · June 10, 1968
- EDWARD FRANKLIN AYERSStaff Sergeant · April 6, 1969
- JOSEPH MILTON EASONSpecialist Four · April 30, 1971
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.