James Arnold Gilford ★ Vietnam War Gold Star Veteran from Texas
On August 24, 1965 Corporal Gilford was declared a casualty of the Vietnam War. ★ He served with honor in the United States Marine Corps. ★ He is remembered by the people of Texas. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
We all benefit when we work together to honor fallen American service members. The Honor States archive is a grassroots initiative. Of the people, by the people, for the people.
Click to Submit Update Request for this Fallen Service Member▼ Content Integrity Note
Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of James Arnold Gilford 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 2021-10-01 23:15:02.
Missing : Core Data
· Special awards and honors
Missing : Supplemental Data
· Birth + childhood location· Educational background
· Marriage history
· Parents, family history
· Expanded references and citations
Service Details
| This Profile ID | 274366 |
| Service ID | 1699614 |
| Name | James Arnold Gilford |
| From | Conroe, Montgomery County, Texas |
| Birth Date | October 1, 1939 |
| Casualty Date | August 24, 1965 |
| War | Vietnam War |
| Service Branch | Marine Corps |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Specialty | Rifleman |
| Unit/Group | 3rd Marine Division, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines |
| Casualty Type | Died through non-hostile action .. air crash at sea |
| Location | C-130 Enroute Hong Kong - Danang crash on Takeoff at Kai Tak, Binh Long province |
| Burial | Montgomery New Cemetery, Montgomery, Montgomery County, Texas |
| Remembered | James Arnold Gilford is buried or memorialized at Montgomery New Cemetery, Montgomery, Montgomery County, Texas.  James is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 03e, Line 84. |
Additional Details
On August 24, 1965, the Lockheed KC-130F Hercules #KC-149802 was scheduled to ferry a group of US Marines back to South Vietnam from an R&R leave in Hong Kong. The pilot lost control of the aircraft and veered off shortly after leaving the runway. One wing struck a wall, causing the plane to burst into flames before crashing into Kowloon Bay, killing 59 out of 71 on board. There were two crew members among the casualties.The cause of the accident was attributed to the aircraft commander disregarding standard operating procedure with one engine prop unfeathered and operating on limited power. We identified 59 casualties in our archive related to the #KC-149802 incident on August 24, 1965.
◼James A Gilford :: Rifleman
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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.
★ Combat Action Ribbon
★ Marksmanship Badge
★ National Defense Service Medal
★ Vietnam Campaign Medal
★ Vietnam Service Medal
★ Marine Corps 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.Texas Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of Texas 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.
▼ Texas was home to over 26,482 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 2,778 World War I
• 18,495 World War II
• 1,790 Korean War
• 3,419 Vietnam War
• 470 Prisoners of war
• 4,839 Missing in action
• 161 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 177 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 29 Medal of Honor recipients
• 18,495 World War II
• 1,790 Korean War
• 3,419 Vietnam War
• 470 Prisoners of war
• 4,839 Missing in action
• 161 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 177 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 29 Medal of Honor recipients
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▼ Organizational Supporters - HonorStates.org and the National Unified Archive of American Gold Star Veterans is stringently curated. This attention to quality extends to our supporters program. We carefully research and screen prospective organizations we perceive as being suitably aligned with our mission
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Honor States Admin
▼ 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
Honoring our fallen. Together. Uniting us in meaningful common cause. When we work together to honor our Gold Star veterans, we heal our nation together. It's a team effort. Everyone's invited to join as a Citizen Historian and Guardian of Honor. - learn more
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