Kenneth Arthur Thomason

Kossuth County native Kenneth Arthur Thomason attended Algona High School before joining the Army at the age of 17. He later finished school while in the Army. Thomason served in Germany and France before being assigned to South Vietnam. While in France he met his wife, a fellow service member with the Woman’s Army Corps. Mr. and Mrs. Thomason made their home at Fort Campbell, KY. They had one son. SSGT Thomason started a second tour in November 1970 as a military advisor to South Vietnamese forces. On April 3, 1971 SSGT Thomason was killed in action in the Kontum Province. He was stationed at an Army artillery base, Fire Support Base #6 or Hill 1001, when the enemy attacked their position. He died of wounds inflicted by hostile small arms fire. He was 27 years old at the time of his death. Thomason’s body was returned to Iowa and buried at the Saint Benedict Cemetery in Algona.