Lawrence William Whitford Jr ★ Vietnam War Gold Star Veteran from Iowa
On November 2, 1969 Colonel Whitford 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 Iowa. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
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Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of Lawrence William Whitford Jr is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile has not been edited recently and is overdue for our attention.
Missing : Core Data
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Missing : Supplemental Data
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Service Details
| This Profile ID | 305042 |
| Service ID | 721104739 |
| Name | Lawrence William Whitford Jr |
| From | Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County, Iowa |
| Birth Date | June 9, 1929 |
| Casualty Date | November 2, 1969 |
| War | Vietnam War |
| Service Branch | Air Force |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Specialty | Pilot Tactical Fighter F 100 |
| Unit/Group | 7th Air Force, 31st Tactical Fighter Wing, 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron |
| Casualty Type | Died while missing in action .. air crash on land .. Body not recovered |
| Location | Laos, Tay Ninh province |
| Burial | Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial |
| Notable Awards |
★ Purple Heart |
| Remembered | 
Lawrence William Whitford Jr is buried or memorialized at Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location.  Lawrence is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 16w, Line 21. |
Additional Details
Colonel Whitford was a member of the 355th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 31st Tactical Fighter Wing, Tuy Hoa Airbase, South Vietnam. On November 2, 1969, he was the pilot of a North American Super Sabre Fighter (F-100F) on a mission over the Ho Chi Minh Trail, Laos. His aircraft failed to meet with a refueling aircraft and crashed. His remains were not recovered.Auto-Generated Profile Synopsis: Lawrence William Whitford Jr 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 Regular Military. Whitford had the rank of Colonel. His military occupation or specialty was Pilot Tactical Fighter F 100. Service number assignment was 721104739. Attached to 7th Air Force, 31st Tactical Fighter Wing, 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron. He was born on June 9, 1929. According to our records Iowa was his home or enlistment state and Black Hawk county has been included within the archival record. We have Cedar Falls listed as his city. During his service in the Vietnam War, Air Force Colonel Whitford was reported missing and ultimately declared dead on November 2, 1969. Recorded circumstances attributed to: Died while missing in action .. air crash on land .. Body not recovered. Incident location: Laos, Tay Ninh 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.Iowa Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of Iowa 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.
▶ Iowa was home to over 10,485 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 2,251 World War I
• 6,820 World War II
• 559 Korean War
• 855 Vietnam War
• 206 Prisoners of war
• 1,836 Missing in action
• 85 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 69 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 7 Medal of Honor recipients
• 6,820 World War II
• 559 Korean War
• 855 Vietnam War
• 206 Prisoners of war
• 1,836 Missing in action
• 85 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 69 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 7 Medal of Honor recipients
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