The Wall › Panel 2W › New York › William Phelps
WILLIAM PHELPS
Captain · U.S. Air Force
December 27, 1947 – November 23, 1971
Service recordWilliam Phelps, of Cortland, New York, served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on November 23, 1971, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 2W, Line 71 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 2W · Line 71
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
- Captain (CAPT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Weapon Systems Officer (1555C)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 4 TFS
- Born
- December 27, 1947
- Home of record
- Cortland, New York (Cortland County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- November 23, 1971
- Country
- Laos
- 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
Three names on the Wall carry the date November 23, 1971. In November 1971, 109 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “4 TFS”, his unit in the record, lost 2 of its members that month.
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
Also on Panel 2W, Line 71
- RONNIE SHARPEPrivate First Class · November 20, 1971
- KEVIN JEFFREY HAUGERPrivate First Class · November 22, 1971
- ROBERT WAYNE ALTUSCaptain · November 23, 1971
- EUGENE RICHARD JOHNSONMaster Sergeant · November 23, 1971
Same unit, same day
- ROBERT WAYNE ALTUSCaptain · Panel 2W, Line 71
From Cortland
- JAMES ANTHONY GALUTZCorporal · April 20, 1967
- THOMAS WENDELL GOODRICHLance Corporal · May 26, 1967
- DOUGLAS J GLOVERSergeant First Class · February 19, 1968
- CARL ALVIN SHUTT JRSpecialist Four · March 27, 1968
- CLIFFORD LYMAN EATONPrivate First Class · June 5, 1968
- DAVID ALLEN PADDOCKFirst Lieutenant · June 7, 1968
- BISHOP SKIP BARANOWSKISpecialist Four · July 8, 1969
- ROBERT VICTOR MOOREPetty Officer Third Class · July 18, 1969
- JOSEPH ANTHONY CERIOCorporal · May 22, 1970
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.