The Wall › Panel 42E › California › Walter Lee Thompson
WALTER LEE THOMPSON
Private First Class · U.S. Army
June 25, 1946 – March 1, 1968
Service recordWalter Lee Thompson, of Fresno, California, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on March 1, 1968, in Dinh Tuong Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 42E, Line 25 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 42E · Line 25
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
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 9 INF DIV
- Born
- June 25, 1946
- Home of record
- Fresno, California (Fresno County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 1, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Dinh Tuong
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Artillery/Mortar/Rocket
Context · from the records
What was happening
70 names on the Wall carry the date March 1, 1968; six of them were lost in Định Tường Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 9th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 101 of its members that month.
He died in Định Tường Province while the Tet Offensive was under way. Beginning on the night of 30–31 January 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces attacked more than 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. February 1968 was the deadliest month of the war for Americans.
Also on Panel 42E, Line 25
- ANTHONY ODELL STRINGERPetty Officer Third Class · March 1, 1968
- STEVEN PAUL SWATEKHospitalman · March 1, 1968
- ROGER ALLEN THOMPSONLance Corporal · March 1, 1968
- JOHN TILLMAN IIILance Corporal · March 1, 1968
Same unit, same day
- EARL IRVIN ALTHOUSEPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 12
- ROBERT IRVING CRANECorporal · Panel 42E, Line 14
- ADOLPHUS ELLISPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 15
- JOSEPH MAYESCorporal · Panel 42E, Line 20
- BENNIE RAY MONCUSPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 21
- GARY LEE OLIVERPrivate First Class · Panel 42E, Line 22
- FRANK DAVID PINACaptain · Panel 42E, Line 23
- VERE LOYD WILLIAMS JRSpecialist Four · Panel 42E, Line 23
- JOHN STEPHEN SIMMONSSecond Lieutenant · Panel 42E, Line 24
- RICHARD JEFFREY PETRIESecond Lieutenant · Panel 42E, Line 26
From Fresno
- FRANK DUVALL WILLIAMSSpecialist Five · December 11, 1964
- HENRY THOMAS LUNAPrivate First Class · November 17, 1965
- CARL MICHAEL HUMESpecialist Four · November 17, 1965
- DANNY JAY MCGRIFFPrivate First Class · February 28, 1966
- MICHAEL B MAULDINPrivate First Class · May 17, 1966
- DONALD THEODORE ERICKSONStaff Sergeant · August 2, 1966
- JOE MAGDALENO BALLIN JRLance Corporal · September 16, 1966
- MANUEL AVILA JRPetty Officer Third Class · November 12, 1966
- VICENTE ZUNIGASpecialist Four · December 21, 1966
- MICHAEL R BROWNPrivate First Class · December 29, 1966
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.