The Wall › Panel 16W › Idaho › Ariel James Smith
ARIEL JAMES SMITH
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
December 19, 1943 – November 8, 1969
Service recordAriel James Smith, of Shelley, Idaho, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on November 8, 1969, in Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam, at age 25. His name is inscribed on Panel 16W, Line 48 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 16W · Line 48
Names are inscribed in the order of loss, starting at Panel 1E at the apex and ending at Panel 1W. At the Memorial, find the panel number at the base and count down from the top line.
Remember
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Specialist Four (SP4)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 INF DIV
- Born
- December 19, 1943
- Home of record
- Shelley, Idaho (Bingham County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- November 8, 1969
- Age
- 25
- Province
- Binh Duong
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
19 names on the Wall carry the date November 8, 1969; seven of them were lost in Bình Dương Province. In November 1969, 660 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 41 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 16W, Line 48
- TOMAS C TUCKERStaff Sergeant · November 8, 1969
- RODNEY CARL TURNERSpecialist Four · November 8, 1969
- MICHAEL GENE BUCKMASTERPrivate First Class · November 9, 1969
- MICHAEL ANDREW BUSTAMANTECorporal · November 9, 1969
Same unit, same day
- RICHARD LYLE ADAMSStaff Sergeant · Panel 16W, Line 44
- RONALD WARREN GIBSONStaff Sergeant · Panel 16W, Line 45
- KENNETH LEE HENKESpecialist Four · Panel 16W, Line 45
- GERALD SAUERSSpecialist Four · Panel 16W, Line 47
- ANDREW BOWMAN SEXTONPrivate First Class · Panel 16W, Line 47
- RODNEY CARL TURNERSpecialist Four · Panel 16W, Line 48
From Shelley
- JON DALE PETERSONSergeant · April 1, 1969
Source. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Casualty Analysis System, Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File (as of April 29, 2008), Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Record Group 330, National Archives (NAID 2240992). Panel and line as recorded in that file. This page presents the official record and its historical context; no biography has been written for him yet. See something wrong? Report a correction.