Memorials › MAJ Dale Darrel DeFord

MAJ Dale Darrel DeFord

20 Oct 1937 – 25 Apr 1966

Birth	20 Oct 1937
Death	25 Apr 1966
Cemetery	Grand Lawn Cemetery Detroit , Wayne County , Michigan , USA
Added by	THR on 12 Aug 2019
FaG	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14020678

Bio

United States Army officer, from Detroit, Michigan. Died from other than hostile action causes in Vietnam. Deford's widow, Melissa, lived in Detroit. Officer, Army Corps of Engineers. He died in Vietnam in a plane crash while flying on a low-altitude mission. He was a career officer, having served seven years at the time of his death, and was the son of an Army Colonel. Captain DeFord graduated from the University of Colorado and earned his Master’s in Engineering at Purdue University. In the Army he was awarded two Army commendation Medals, and conducted research on the effects of tides on currents in nuclear-excavated canals. He was a member of the Chi Epsilon Honorary Civil Engineering Society, The Order of Demolay, and the Society of American Military Engineers. He Deployed to Vietnam on Christmas, 1965. In his absence, his wife, Melissa and his son Don D. Deford II, lived with Captain DeFord’s parents, retired Col and Mrs. Don D. DeFord of Portland, Oregon. Captain DeFord was also survived by his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Christiansen of Nebraska. A funeral service was conducted at the Van Valkenburg Funeral Home in Detriot.

Inscription

NEBRASKA MAJOR CORPS OF ENGRS VIETNAM BSM-ARCOM AND OLC

Photos

Family

Parents

• COL Don Darrel Deford 1906–1977
• Helena Marie Christensen Deford 1915–2010

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