William C. Clay III

Captain William Clifton Clay III was killed in action on April 12, 1967 in Quang Tin, South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.  He was 25 years old.

William Clifton “W.C.” Clay, III was born on September 29, 1941 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the son of William Clifton Clay, Jr. and Bessie Duke Hall Clay.  He graduated from Henderson High School in the Class of 1959 and was voted “Most Popular” in his class. He attended Duke University on a Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship where he graduated with a Major in Psychology.  He became a Marine so he could fly jets, and he learned the dangerous skill of providing close ground support. He married Betty Gee Herndon in 1963, and she was pregnant with their son Will when W.C. was deployed to the war in Vietnam in 1966.

Capt Clay served with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211 (VMFA-211), Marine Aircraft Group 12 (MAG-12), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW). With escalation of the Vietnam War, VMA-211 had moved to Iwakuni Japan in 1965 and commenced the first of four deployments to Chu Lai Air Base, South Vietnam.

On November 16, 1966, Capt. Clay maneuvered his A-4E Skyhawk jet through monsoon weather and tight mountainous terrain to give air cover for the crew of a downed helicopter.  For this action, the Navy awarded him the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism and “superior professional skill.”

On April 12, 1967, Capt. Clay took off in his A-4E Skyhawk for a low-level bombing run on a Viet Cong stronghold near Que Son.  The Skyhawk was hit by enemy groundfire.  It rolled, exploded and crashed into a hilltop.  The area was in enemy hands, making a search for his body impossible. His remains were not recovered until 1995.

Capt. William Clifton Clay III is buried in Sunset Memorial Garden in Henderson, North Carolina.  His name is inscribed on panel 18E, line 018 of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. 

Last edited: 13 May 2026