The Wall › Panel 50W › Texas › William James Thompson
WILLIAM JAMES THOMPSON
Colonel · U.S. Air Force
February 19, 1933 – August 1, 1968
Service recordWilliam James Thompson, of Houston, Texas, served as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on August 1, 1968, in North Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 50W, Line 46 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 50W · Line 46
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
- Colonel (COL)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Pilot (1115F)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 389 TFS
- Born
- February 19, 1933
- Home of record
- Houston, Texas (Harris County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- August 1, 1968
- Country
- North Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
34 names on the Wall carry the date August 1, 1968. In August 1968, 1,313 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “389 TFS”, his unit in the record, lost 2 of its members that month.
He died in North Vietnam while Operation Rolling Thunder was under way. Operation Rolling Thunder (March 1965–November 1968) was the sustained U.S. bombing campaign against North Vietnam, flown by Air Force fighter-bombers from Thailand and Navy aircraft from carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin against some of the densest air defenses in the world.
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 50W, Line 46
- WILLIAM FOSTER HOOK JRPrivate First Class · August 1, 1968
- ALLAN GREGORY SWAIMSergeant · August 1, 1968
- THEODORE JAY WHITLOCKPrivate First Class · August 1, 1968
- MATTHEW WOODSStaff Sergeant · August 1, 1968
Same unit, same day
- JOSEPH SHAW ROSSCaptain · Panel 50W, Line 45
From Houston
- JOSEPH MICHAEL FAHEY JRCaptain · February 11, 1962
- JOHN F SHAUGHNESSY JRCaptain · February 3, 1963
- RICHARD DALE HILLAirman Second Class · December 6, 1963
- HUGHIE DARELL ADAMSMajor · January 7, 1964
- ALBERT LAWRENCE SHIMEKPrivate First Class · April 10, 1964
- BYRON CLARK STONECaptain · August 20, 1964
- JAMES EDWARD HAVEMANNWarrant Officer 1 · October 7, 1964
- ROBERT GRAHAM BELLMajor · May 16, 1965
- LEROY ANTHONY BOURGEOISPrivate First Class · June 18, 1965
- ROBERT FILMORE BATSONSergeant · August 18, 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.