Service Photo |
Service Details |
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Last Photo |
Personal Details
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Home State
 New Jersey | |
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Year of Birth 1944 |
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This Military Service Page was created/owned by
SMSgt R. Hensel (Bob / Ole Buck)
to remember
Dinan, David Thomas, III, 1st Lt.
If you knew or served with this Airman and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
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Casualty Info
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Home Town Nutley, NJ |
Last Address Nutley, NJ
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Casualty Date Mar 17, 1969 |
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Cause Hostile, Died |
Reason Air Loss, Crash - Land |
Location Laos |
Conflict Vietnam War |
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery - Arlington, Virginia |
Wall/Plot Coordinates 29W-062/ Sect 60, Grave 11701 |
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Last Known Activity
1Lt. David Thomas Dinan III was a pilot from the 34 Tactical Fighter Squadron at Korat Airbase, Thailand. On March 17, 1969, Dinan was assigned a combat mission which took him over Laos.
During the mission, Dinan's aircraft, F-105D serial number 61-0104 was hit by enemy fire and he ejected. His parachute was shredded when it hit trees, and he substained what were believed to be fatal injuries from falling through the trees and down an embankment. Dinan was declared Killed in Action / Body Not Recovered.
His fiancee, Lt. Valerie Gallulo, who he was to marry the following month, served in the Air Force also. She was stationed in Thailand as an intelligence officer. She wrote to David's parents: David is truly a son to be proud of. I only knew him for nine short months but every moment we spent together was a cherished one. He was a man and a gentleman in every sense of the word. No higher compliment could have been paid to my womanhood than when he asked me to be his wife.
source:
NJVVMF
December 11, 1984
A letter to the Dinans from
President Ronald Reagan
read:
Nancy and I wish to extend once again our personal greetings to our special friends, the families of our men who have still not returned to us. This year brought some progress, but painfully slow. I wish to reaffirm to you my personal commitment to providing the answers you so rightfully deserve. I follow our efforts closely to ensure we are exploring all reasonable avenues to provide the answers and will continue to do so. In unity and faith in each other and with the help of God, we pray that the coming year will end the uncertainty of many more of our friends.
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Comments/Citation His remains have been recovered. Interment services are pending.
http://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1282266/airman-
killed-during-vietnam-war-accounted-for-dinan/
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