The Wall › Panel 1W › Texas › Thomas Stokes Powell
THOMAS STOKES POWELL
Captain · U.S. Army
September 17, 1942 – April 19, 1972
Service recordThomas Stokes Powell, of Athens, Texas, served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. He died on April 19, 1972, in Pleiku Province, South Vietnam, at age 29. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 3 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · 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
- Captain (CPT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Armored Reconnaissance Unit Commander (1204)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- September 17, 1942
- Home of record
- Athens, Texas (Henderson County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 19, 1972
- Age
- 29
- Province
- Pleiku
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
Five names on the Wall carry the date April 19, 1972; two of them were lost in Pleiku Province. In April 1972, 106 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Aviation Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 17 of its members that month.
He died in Pleiku Province while the Easter Offensive was under way. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched its largest offensive since 1968, attacking across the DMZ, toward An Lộc and into the Central Highlands. By then few U.S. ground troops remained; American advisers and air power fought alongside the South Vietnamese.
Also on Panel 1W, Line 3
- GEORGE KASPER BARSOM IIIFirst Lieutenant · April 19, 1972
- ALBERTO ORTIZ JRSergeant First Class · April 19, 1972
- PAUL JOHN PESCESpecialist Four · April 19, 1972
- ARNOLD JOHN RAHMCaptain · April 19, 1972
Same unit, same day
- PAUL JOHN PESCESpecialist Four · Panel 1W, Line 3
From Athens
- KEITH WESLEY ALLENPrivate First Class · October 15, 1967
- EDWARD MERLE JACKSONPrivate First Class · September 1, 1968
- GARY WAYNE EVERETTPrivate First Class · December 22, 1968
- CHARLES EDWARD BROOKSPetty Officer First Class · March 8, 1970
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.