The Wall › Panel 18W › Tennessee › William T Chaffin III
WILLIAM T CHAFFIN III
First Lieutenant · U.S. Army
September 5, 1945 – August 29, 1969
Service recordWilliam T Chaffin III, of Oakland, Tennessee, served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He died on August 29, 1969, in Phuoc Long Province, South Vietnam, at age 23. His name is inscribed on Panel 18W, Line 5 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 18W · Line 5
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. Army
- Rank
- First Lieutenant (1LT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Air Observation Pilot (1981)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- September 5, 1945
- Home of record
- Oakland, Tennessee (Fayette County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- August 29, 1969
- Age
- 23
- Province
- Phuoc Long
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
22 names on the Wall carry the date August 29, 1969; he was the only one lost in Phuoc Long Province that day. In August 1969, 962 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 99 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 18W, Line 5
- CLAIR CLARENCE H SAINT JRCorporal · August 28, 1969
- CHARLIE SIMMONS JRCorporal · August 28, 1969
- ALVIN WAYNE STALLCUPSpecialist Four · August 28, 1969
- CARL BRACY AYERS JRCorporal · August 29, 1969
Same unit, same day
- JACKIE CLYDE DEHARTSpecialist Four · Panel 18W, Line 6
- RALPH DONALD GODFROYSpecialist Four · Panel 18W, Line 6
- GARY WAYNE WITHERSCorporal · Panel 18W, Line 9
From Oakland
- JOE NATHANIEL WATSONPrivate · February 14, 1970
- DWIGHT AMOS BREMMERSpecialist Four · December 14, 1971
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.