The Wall › Panel 41E › Louisiana › David Leon Smith
DAVID LEON SMITH
Private First Class · U.S. Army
March 20, 1948 – February 26, 1968
Service recordDavid Leon Smith, of Marrero, Louisiana, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on February 26, 1968, in Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 41E, Line 43 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 41E · Line 43
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
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 196 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- March 20, 1948
- Home of record
- Marrero, Louisiana
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 26, 1968
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Quang Tin
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Artillery/Mortar/Rocket
Context · from the records
What was happening
63 names on the Wall carry the date February 26, 1968; three of them were lost in Quảng Tín Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 196th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 40 of its members that month.
He died in Quảng Tín 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 41E, Line 43
- ROBERT LINTON REEVESCaptain · February 26, 1968
- SHERWOOD REYNOLDSSergeant · February 26, 1968
- JOSEPH MICHAEL SINKEWICZPrivate First Class · February 26, 1968
- JOHN MARK SPIELMANSeaman · February 26, 1968
Same unit, same day
- WILLIAM HARRISON GOINSSergeant · Panel 41E, Line 38
- RICHARD D WILLIAMSCorporal · Panel 41E, Line 46
From Marrero
- GARY JAMES ARDENEAUXPetty Officer Third Class · July 29, 1967
- JOSEPH DEWEY DAIGLEPrivate First Class · October 13, 1967
- DAVE MARTIN BARTHOLOMEWPrivate First Class · December 30, 1967
- ROBERT LEE GLENN JRPrivate First Class · April 28, 1968
- CLARENCE JOSEPH BABIN JRSpecialist Four · February 25, 1969
- ARTHUR JUSTILIEN MARTINPetty Officer Third Class · June 11, 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.