Thomas, Darwin Joel
Navy Ensign

Darwin Joel Thomas from Santa Clara, California, Santa Clara county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Friday, October 14, 1966
Death details: Ensign Darwin Joel Thomas, who joined the U.S. Navy from California, served with Attack Squadron 152. On October 14, 1966, ENS Thomas piloted an A-1H Skyraider (bureau number 139731, call sign “Locket 511”) that took off from the USS Oriskany (CVA-34) on a combat mission against enemy ground targets in Vietnam. While over the target area, ENS Thomas was directed by his flight leader to make a rocket attack on a ground target. The flight lead saw ENS Thomas fire his rockets but then heard a garbled radio transmission from him, and moments later, observed an elongated fireball in the vicinity of (GC) 48Q WG 349 652. There were no further transmissions and no emergency signals from ENS Thomas, and the strong enemy presence prevented formal searches. ENS Thomas remains unaccounted-for. Today, Ensign Thomas is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency