The Wall › Panel 40E › Illinois › Bernard Edward Smith
BERNARD EDWARD SMITH
Specialist Four · U.S. Army
October 14, 1947 – February 19, 1968
Service recordBernard Edward Smith, of East St Louis, Illinois, served as a Specialist Four in the U.S. Army. He died on February 19, 1968, in Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 40E, Line 32 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 40E · Line 32
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
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 INF DIV
- Born
- October 14, 1947
- Home of record
- East St Louis, Illinois (St Clair County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 19, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Binh Duong
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
93 names on the Wall carry the date February 19, 1968; four of them were lost in Bình Dương Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 125 of its members that month.
He died in Bình Dương Province while the Tet Offensive was under way. Beginning on the night of 30–31 January 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces attacked more than 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. February 1968 was the deadliest month of the war for Americans.
Also on Panel 40E, Line 32
- ROBERT SMITH GRIFFITHStaff Sergeant · February 19, 1968
- ENRIQUE LORENZO SOLIZSpecialist Four · February 19, 1968
- WILTON JAMES SULLINGER JRPrivate First Class · February 19, 1968
- LUCIEN CHARLES TESSIERCaptain · February 19, 1968
Same unit, same day
- WILLIAM EDWARD BOONEStaff Sergeant · Panel 40E, Line 17
- LARRY WAYNE DARLINGSpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 19
- JAMES LEE FELTYStaff Sergeant · Panel 40E, Line 20
- ADRIAN EDWARD SIGLERStaff Sergeant · Panel 40E, Line 31
- KEVIN EDWARD VERPAULTStaff Sergeant · Panel 40E, Line 35
From East St Louis
- MICHAEL ALLEN LYLESPrivate First Class · August 16, 1965
- MICHAEL K MATHISONPrivate First Class · November 8, 1965
- ALLIE WILLIAM CAMPBELLSpecialist Four · November 12, 1965
- CHARLES EDWARD HARVEYPrivate First Class · April 11, 1966
- FRED ALFRED BENNERSpecialist Five · April 13, 1966
- WILBUR DESMAR JACKSONStaff Sergeant · May 16, 1966
- RALPH BURTON COBBSLieutenant Commander · June 17, 1966
- LARRY MICHAEL BERRYLance Corporal · July 22, 1966
- ARBAL ROLLINS JRLance Corporal · August 28, 1966
- EARL ELESTER IRVING JRSpecialist Four · September 11, 1966
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.