Donald Richard Kemmerer ★ Vietnam War Gold Star Veteran from Pennsylvania
On August 6, 1967 Major Kemmerer 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 Pennsylvania. ★ 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 Donald Richard Kemmerer 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 2015-05-02 08:55:18.
Missing : Core Data
· 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 | 281874 |
| Service ID | 160348115 |
| Name | Donald Richard Kemmerer |
| From | Quakertown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania |
| Birth Date | May 20, 1941 |
| Casualty Date | August 6, 1967 |
| War | Vietnam War |
| Service Branch | Air Force |
| Rank | Major |
| Specialty | Pilot Tactical Fighter F 84 F 86 |
| Unit/Group | 7th Air Force, 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron |
| Casualty Type | Died while missing in action .. air crash on land .. body not recovered |
| Location | North Vietnam, Quang Nam province |
| Burial | Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial |
| Notable Awards |
★ Purple Heart |
| Remembered | 
Donald Richard Kemmerer is buried or memorialized at Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location.  Donald is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 24e, Line 83. |
Additional Details
Major Kemmerer was a member of the 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Da Nang Airbase, South Vietnam. On August 6, 1967, he was the co-pilot of a McDonnell Douglas Phantom II Fighter (F-4C) on a strike mission over North Vietnam. His aircraft was hit by hostile fire and crashed 5 miles offshore in the Gulf of Tonkin, 10 miles north of Vinh Linh, Quang Binh Province. His remains were not recovered.▼ Auto-Generated Profile Synopsis: Donald Richard Kemmerer was serving his country during the Vietnam War when he gave his all in the line of duty. He had enlisted in the United States Air Force. Entered the service via Reserve Military. Kemmerer had the rank of Major. His military occupation or specialty was Pilot Tactical Fighter F 84 F 86. Service number assignment was 160348115. Attached to 7th Air Force, 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron.
He was born on May 20, 1941. According to our records Pennsylvania was his home or enlistment state and Bucks county has been included within the archival record. We have Quakertown listed as his city. During his service in the Vietnam War, Air Force Major Kemmerer was reported missing and ultimately declared dead on August 6, 1967. Recorded circumstances attributed to: Died while missing in action .. air crash on land .. body not recovered. Incident location: North Vietnam, Quang Nam province. |
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.
★ Purple Heart
★ United States Aviator Badge Air Force
★ 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.Pennsylvania Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of Pennsylvania 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.
▼ Pennsylvania was home to over 44,108 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 8,387 World War I
• 30,149 World War II
• 2,414 Korean War
• 3,158 Vietnam War
• 462 Prisoners of war
• 6,359 Missing in action
• 76 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 528 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 36 Medal of Honor recipients
• 30,149 World War II
• 2,414 Korean War
• 3,158 Vietnam War
• 462 Prisoners of war
• 6,359 Missing in action
• 76 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 528 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 36 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
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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National D-Day Memorial
Dedicated on June 6th, 2001 by president George W. Bush, the National D-Day Memorial was constructed in honor of those who died that day, fighting in one of the most significant battles in our nations history.
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