The Wall › Panel 21W › North Carolina › Charles Earl Smith
CHARLES EARL SMITH
Staff Sergeant · U.S. Army
June 29, 1943 – July 7, 1969
Service recordCharles Earl Smith, of Durham, North Carolina, served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on July 7, 1969, in Pleiku Province, South Vietnam, at age 26. His name is inscribed on Panel 21W, Line 78 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 21W · Line 78
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
- Staff Sergeant (SSG)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- June 29, 1943
- Home of record
- Durham, North Carolina (Durham County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- July 7, 1969
- Age
- 26
- Province
- Pleiku
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
31 names on the Wall carry the date July 7, 1969; four of them were lost in Pleiku Province. In July 1969, 834 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Aviation Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 23 of its members that month.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 21W, Line 78
- PAUL HENRY SHEEHANFirst Sergeant · July 7, 1969
- THOMAS JEFFERSON SIZEMOREStaff Sergeant · July 7, 1969
- CURTIS ADRON STEPHENSSergeant First Class · July 7, 1969
- SHELBY MILES TROTTERPrivate First Class · July 7, 1969
Same unit, same day
- PAUL EDWARD JOHNSONPrivate First Class · Panel 21W, Line 75
- DANA LEROY MACESpecialist Five · Panel 21W, Line 76
- COLON DAVID YOUNGSpecialist Four · Panel 21W, Line 79
From Durham
- WILLIAM B WATSON JRStaff Sergeant · February 23, 1966
- ALFRED L THOMPSONPrivate First Class · March 30, 1966
- JOHN MARSHALL BROWN IIIStaff Sergeant · April 7, 1966
- JAMES EDWARD FARRAR JRPrivate First Class · June 9, 1966
- JAMES AUGUSTA RICHARDSONPrivate First Class · July 6, 1966
- MCARTHUR NICHOLSSpecialist Four · September 18, 1966
- JOHN MILTON HARRINGTONCaptain · September 19, 1966
- HAROLD LEE HARRISPrivate First Class · October 22, 1966
- FREDDIE LEE BURNETTESpecialist Four · December 27, 1966
- KENNETH JAMES DANTZLERSpecialist Four · April 1, 1967
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.