The Wall › Panel 32W › Pennsylvania › Thomas William Kustaborder
THOMAS WILLIAM KUSTABORDER
Corporal · U.S. Marine Corps
December 18, 1946 – February 14, 1969
Service recordThomas William Kustaborder, of Altoona, Pennsylvania, served as a Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on February 14, 1969, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, at age 22. His name is inscribed on Panel 32W, Line 32 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 32W · Line 32
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. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Corporal (CPL)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Machinegunner (0331)
- Born
- December 18, 1946
- Home of record
- Altoona, Pennsylvania (Blair County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 14, 1969
- Age
- 22
- Province
- Quang Tri
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Artillery/Mortar/Rocket
Context · from the records
What was happening
26 names on the Wall carry the date February 14, 1969; seven of them were lost in Quảng Trị Province. In February 1969, 1,304 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Quảng Trị Province while Operation Dewey Canyon was under way. In Operation Dewey Canyon (22 January–18 March 1969) the 9th Marines struck North Vietnamese base areas in the Đa Krông and A Shau valleys, the last major Marine offensive of the war. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
Read the history
Also on Panel 32W, Line 32
- ALVIN RAY FRITZCorporal · February 14, 1969
- JOHN MARSHALL HOLLOWAYStaff Sergeant · February 14, 1969
- CHARLES SPENCER JONESWarrant Officer 1 · February 14, 1969
- REGINALD DAVID KINGLance Corporal · February 14, 1969
From Altoona
- JOSEPH WILLIAM SCHUSTERCorporal · June 1, 1966
- ALFRED JAMES KIBLERLance Corporal · October 6, 1966
- DENNIS M SPAHNSpecialist Four · December 28, 1966
- WILLIAM JOEL RICKMANPrivate First Class · April 3, 1967
- EDWARD PHILIP SZEYLLERLieutenant · April 4, 1967
- JAMES EDWARD CAREYLance Corporal · April 21, 1967
- ROBERT CARL DAMBECKMaster Sergeant · July 7, 1967
- NICHOLAS CHARLES BIANCONICorporal · July 24, 1967
- GEAN PRESTON CLAPPERChief Master Sergeant · December 29, 1967
- SHELDON D SCHULTZChief Warrant Officer 3 · January 5, 1968
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.