The Wall › Panel 26W › Texas › Walter Shelby Vancleave
WALTER SHELBY VANCLEAVE
Lieutenant Colonel · U.S. Air Force
August 16, 1927 – April 22, 1969
Service recordWalter Shelby Vancleave, of Dallas, Texas, served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He died on April 22, 1969, in Laos, at age 41. His name is inscribed on Panel 26W, Line 28 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 26W · Line 28
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. Air Force
- Rank
- Lieutenant Colonel (LTCOL)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- 480 TAC FTR SQ
- Born
- August 16, 1927
- Home of record
- Dallas, Texas (Dallas County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 22, 1969
- Age
- 41
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
29 names on the Wall carry the date April 22, 1969. In April 1969, 1,023 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 26W, Line 28
- JOHNNIE PERRY STEPHENS JRFirst Lieutenant · April 22, 1969
- THOMAS JOSEPH TISCHLERSergeant · April 22, 1969
- JERRY LEE WALLCorporal · April 22, 1969
- JOHN MICHAEL WALSHFirst Lieutenant · April 22, 1969
From Dallas
- GLENN MATTESONSecond Lieutenant · March 23, 1961
- CONDON HUNTER TERRYCaptain · June 27, 1963
- ROBERT DONALD WALKERCaptain · April 19, 1965
- LESLIE GENE KINGLieutenant Colonel · August 1, 1965
- DAVID JOHN THOMASCorporal · August 18, 1965
- TED WAYNE QUALLSLance Corporal · August 31, 1965
- GEORGE A WESTMaster Sergeant · September 17, 1965
- JAMES LOUIS FISHERPlatoon Sergeant · November 17, 1965
- JOSEPH CLINTON BRADYPrivate First Class · December 13, 1965
- RONALD GENE MCKINNEYSeaman · December 17, 1965
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.