Ronald C Deforrest ★ Vietnam War Gold Star Veteran from Massachusetts
On April 25, 1969 Airman First Class Deforrest was declared a casualty of the Vietnam War. ★ He served with honor in the United States Air Force. ★ He is remembered by the people of Massachusetts. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
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Click to Submit Update Request for this Fallen Service Member▼ Content Integrity Note
Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of Ronald C Deforrest is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2019-10-09 13:01:21.
Missing : Core Data
· Middle name· Enlistment type
· Military occupation or specialty
· Date of tour or service
Missing : Supplemental Data
· Birth + childhood location· Educational background
· Marriage history
· Parents, family history
· Expanded references and citations
Service Details
| This Profile ID | 269581 |
| Service ID | 11621800 |
| Name | Ronald C Deforrest |
| From | Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts |
| Birth Date | March 27, 1947 |
| Casualty Date | April 25, 1969 |
| War | Vietnam War |
| Service Branch | Air Force |
| Rank | Airman First Class |
| Unit/Group | 554th Reconnaissance Squadron, 553rd Reconnaissance Wing, 7th Air Force |
| Casualty Type | Died through non-hostile action, air crash on land |
| Location | Thailand |
| Burial | Saint Mary's Cemetery, Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts |
| Notable Awards |
★ Air Medal |
| Remembered | Ronald C Deforrest is buried or memorialized at Saint Mary's Cemetery, Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts.  Ronald is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 26w, Line 44. |
Additional Details
He was killed along with the entire crew when US Air Force EC-121R #67-21493 crashed over land in Thailand due to a non-hostile action.
We identified 18 casualties in our archive related to the #67-21493 incident on April 25, 1969.
◼Ronald C Deforrest
|
Commendations + Awards
Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.
★ Air Medal
★ National Defense Service Medal
★ Vietnam Campaign Medal
★ Vietnam Service Medal
★ Air Force Presidential Unit Citation
★ Vietnam Gallantry Cross
Notable Reference Sources
These are typically links to pages on external sites that have provided specific nodes of information. In most cases the information has some assurance of being crowd-sourced and vetted by a community of users.Massachusetts Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of Massachusetts who gave their all for their country. May their example of courage and sacrifice be our guide. To be strong and responsible in our lives as citizens of the world. Through honest daily actions, we honor them.
▼ Massachusetts was home to over 18,372 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 3,419 World War I
• 12,683 World War II
• 933 Korean War
• 1,337 Vietnam War
• 288 Prisoners of war
• 3,858 Missing in action
• 35 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 153 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 21 Medal of Honor recipients
• 12,683 World War II
• 933 Korean War
• 1,337 Vietnam War
• 288 Prisoners of war
• 3,858 Missing in action
• 35 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 153 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 21 Medal of Honor recipients
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▼ Primary Sources - These are repositories for artifacts, documents, diaries, manuscripts, and other information that serve as original and authoritative sources of information.
National Archives (NARA)
Library of Congress (LOC)
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
Findagrave.com
Ancestry.com
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