The Wall › Panel 14W › California › William Charles Shinn
WILLIAM CHARLES SHINN
Staff Sergeant · U.S. Air Force
July 7, 1948 – January 28, 1970
Service recordWilliam Charles Shinn, of Woodland, California, served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. He died on January 28, 1970, in North Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 14W, Line 77 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 14W · Line 77
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
- Staff Sergeant (SSGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- 40 AER SQ
- Born
- July 7, 1948
- Home of record
- Woodland, California (Yolo County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 28, 1970
- Age
- 21
- Country
- North Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
19 names on the Wall carry the date January 28, 1970. In January 1970, 529 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “40 AER SQ”, his unit in the record, lost 3 of its members that month.
The record places this loss in North Vietnam, outside South Vietnam — most often the sign of an air crew lost over the North or the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
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
Also on Panel 14W, Line 77
- JOHN ANDREW SHAFFERFirst Lieutenant · January 28, 1970
- WILLIAM CARL SUTTONMaster Sergeant · January 28, 1970
- HOWARD BLANDINOPetty Officer Second Class · January 29, 1970
- CLARENCE F BROWN JRPrivate First Class · January 29, 1970
Same unit, same day
- HOLLY GENE BELLMajor · Panel 14W, Line 73
- LEONARD CHARLES LEESERCaptain · Panel 14W, Line 75
From Woodland
- DAVID JOSEPH BOYLESeaman · February 14, 1966
- JAMES GEORGE SCOTTSpecialist Four · June 26, 1967
- BRADLEY OLEN TILLINGHASTSergeant · July 12, 1967
- ARTHUR FRED MIRAMONTESPrivate First Class · October 27, 1967
- ROBERT LEE STEWARTPrivate First Class · May 16, 1968
- THOMAS LOUIS ROSSIPrivate · February 14, 1969
- CHRISTOPHER CASIASPrivate First Class · February 23, 1969
- GEORGE DEWEY BROOKSHIREPrivate First Class · September 1, 1969
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.