The Wall › Panel 34E › Kansas › William Joseph Thompson
WILLIAM JOSEPH THOMPSON
Lieutenant Commander · U.S. Navy
December 13, 1930 – January 16, 1968
Service recordWilliam Joseph Thompson, of Kansas City, Kansas, served as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy. He died on January 16, 1968, in North Vietnam, at age 37. His name is inscribed on Panel 34E, Line 60 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 34E · Line 60
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. Navy
- Rank
- Lieutenant Commander (LCDR)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Url Pilot (1310)
- Unit (as recorded)
- USS KITTY HAWK CVA 63
- Born
- December 13, 1930
- Home of record
- Kansas City, Kansas (Wyandotte County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 16, 1968
- Age
- 37
- Country
- North Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
22 names on the Wall carry the date January 16, 1968. In January 1968, 1,546 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “USS KITTY HAWK CVA 63”, his unit in the record, lost 3 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
Also on Panel 34E, Line 60
- DAVID LOUIS PERKETTPrivate First Class · January 16, 1968
- HOMER EARL PIERCE JRPrivate First Class · January 16, 1968
- WILLIAM HENRY REEDY JRPetty Officer Third Class · January 16, 1968
- HAROLD E STANTONStaff Sergeant · January 16, 1968
Same unit, same day
- ORVILLE DALE COOLEYLieutenant · Panel 34E, Line 58
- WILLIAM HENRY REEDY JRPetty Officer Third Class · Panel 34E, Line 60
From Kansas City
- KENNETH LEE SORENSENPrivate First Class · December 4, 1965
- JACK SHIVELY SWENDERLance Corporal · December 18, 1965
- JOHN MARK TIDERMANLieutenant Commander · March 21, 1966
- JAMES IRA COURTNEYStaff Sergeant · June 8, 1966
- FELIX PACHECOPrivate First Class · August 25, 1966
- BILLY RAY MOOREPrivate First Class · September 6, 1966
- LAWRENCE R COSTELLOSergeant · November 1, 1966
- EMMETT RAY DAVISPrivate First Class · November 22, 1966
- LEE EDWARD REUKAUFPrivate First Class · February 28, 1967
- ROGER RALPH WILLIAMSSpecialist Four · March 3, 1967
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.