The Wall › Panel 31W › Ohio › Thomas Ray Preston
THOMAS RAY PRESTON
Specialist Five · U.S. Army
April 3, 1947 – February 23, 1969
Service recordThomas Ray Preston, of Parma, Ohio, served as a Specialist Five in the U.S. Army. He died on February 23, 1969, in Bien Hoa Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 31W, Line 16 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 31W · Line 16
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
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Light Vehicle Driver (64A)
- Unit (as recorded)
- US ARMY REP OF VIETNAM
- Born
- April 3, 1947
- Home of record
- Parma, Ohio (Cuyahoga County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 23, 1969
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Bien Hoa
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
209 names on the Wall carry the date February 23, 1969; 14 of them were lost in Bien Hoa Province. In February 1969, 1,304 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “US ARMY REP OF VIETNAM”, his unit in the record, lost 4 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 31W, Line 16
- DANIEL LOYD POFFSergeant · February 23, 1969
- CHRISTOPHER DAVID PRATHERLance Corporal · February 23, 1969
- THOMAS GORDON PRICEPrivate First Class · February 23, 1969
- WILLARD FLOYD PROCHASKALance Corporal · February 23, 1969
Same unit, same day
- RICHARD JOHN CURRYMajor · Panel 32W, Line 94
- WILLIAM WALTER DICKEYLieutenant Colonel · Panel 32W, Line 96
- JON PARIS ROBBINSSpecialist Five · Panel 31W, Line 19
From Parma
- ROBERT LOUIS GUERINSpecialist Four · May 21, 1966
- MICHAEL THEODORE SUKARAPrivate First Class · June 11, 1966
- ALAN RALPH STEFFENStaff Sergeant · November 26, 1966
- TERRY LEE DAVISPetty Officer Third Class · February 24, 1967
- JOHN EARL SWEESYPrivate First Class · May 3, 1967
- TERENCE JOSEPH KILBANELance Corporal · July 6, 1967
- JAMES JOHN ZAVOCKYLieutenant (junior grade) · August 25, 1967
- RONALD BRIAN KERNERPrivate First Class · September 10, 1967
- ROBERT LOUIS SASPrivate First Class · November 24, 1967
- DONALD ALBERT BASALLALance Corporal · November 26, 1967
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.