An official website of the United States government         Here's how you know         
**Official websites use .mil**
A **.mil** website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
**Secure .mil websites use HTTPS**
 A **lock (lock )** or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Skip to main content (Press Enter).

Defense POW/MIA Accounting AgencyFulfilling Our Nation's Promise

Search
Search

Search

              - 
              - 
              - 

-  Home		 
-  Families		 
-  Our Missing    -  Searchable List of the Missing             
  -  Searchable Map of the Missing             
  -  Recently Accounted For             
  -  World War II      -  World War II Summary             
    -  Battle of Tarawa             
    -  Attack on Pearl Harbor 
  -  Korean War      -  Korean War Summary             
    -  Battle of Chosin Reservoir             
    -  Battle of Unsan             
    -  Korean Air Battles             
    -  The Inchon Campaign             
    -  The Pusan Perimeter             
    -  The DMZ Campaigns             
    -  Korean War Disinterments             
    -  Operation Glory             
    -  POW Camps 
  -  Vietnam War      -  Vietnam War Summary             
    -  Vietnam War Identification Project             
    -  Tet Offensive             
    -  Battle of Khe Sanh             
    -  Mayaguez Incident             
    -  Battle of Ia Drang             
    -  Lam Son 
  -  Cold War             
  -  Gulf Wars & Libya             
  -  Unknowns 
-  News & Stories    -  Our Stories             
  -  Press Releases             
  -  DPAA In The News             
  -  Year In Review 
-  Multimedia    -  Livestreams             
  -  Podcast             
  -  Briefing Videos             
  -  Science Videos             
  -  DPAA Laboratory             
  -  Media Gallery 
-  Resources    -  FAQs             
  -  AFMES DNA Laboratory             
  -  Publicly Released Documents             
  -  Family/VSO Update Notes             
  -  Family Member Guide             
  -  POW/MIA Day Toolkit             
  -  USRJC 
-  About    -  Leadership             
  -  Vision-Mission-Values             
  -  DPAA Organizational Chart 
-  Contact    -  Contact Us             
  -  Join Us      -  Careers 
  -  Report a Site             
  -  Donate to the Mission 
-  Volunteer		 

## News Release

# Soldier Missing In Action From The Vietnam War Is Identified (Walton)

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced todaythat the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have beenidentified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is Sgt. 1st Class Lewis C. Walton, U.S. Army, of Cranston, R.I. He was buriedSaturday at Rhode Island Veterans Cemetery in Exeter.

Representatives from the Army met with Walton’s next-of-kin in her hometown to explainthe recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalfof the Secretary of the Army.

On May 3, 1971, Walton was part of a reconnaissance patrol inserted into a remote area ofSouth Vietnam near Da Nang. The next day, forward air controllers could not locate the team andsubsequent attempts to find the patrol over the next few days were unsuccessful.

The two other American soldiers on the patrol, Staff Sgts. James M. Luttrell and Klaus Y.Bingham, are still unaccounted-for.

Between 1992 and 1999, joint U.S.-Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams, led bythe Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), traveled to Quang Nam-Da Nang Provincethree times to investigate the incident. They interviewed Vietnamese citizens who supplieddetails of a 1971 firefight in which enemy forces killed Walton and the other American membersin the reconnaissance patrol. The citizens said the Americans were not buried. In 1993, one U.S.-S.R.V. team surveyed the incident site and found military-style artifacts. Another team surveyedthe site in 1999 and found a cargo belt strap.

Between 2004 and 2006, joint U.S.-S.R.V. teams, led by JPAC, conducted threeexcavations of the site. The teams recovered remains and additional material evidence includinga U.S. Army badge and uniform buttons.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists fromJPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA in theidentification of Walton’s remains.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missingAmericans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.

**                    SHARE                

**                    PRINT