The Wall › Panel 11W › Indiana › David William Smith
DAVID WILLIAM SMITH
Sergeant · U.S. Army
March 14, 1949 – May 2, 1970
Service recordDavid William Smith, of Lafayette, Indiana, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on May 2, 1970, in Cambodia, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 11W, Line 88 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 11W · Line 88
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
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 9 INF DIV
- Born
- March 14, 1949
- Home of record
- Lafayette, Indiana (Tippecanoe County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 2, 1970
- Age
- 21
- Country
- Cambodia
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
36 names on the Wall carry the date May 2, 1970. In May 1970, 917 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 9th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 25 of its members that month.
He died in Cambodia while the Cambodian incursion was under way. From 29 April to 30 June 1970, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces crossed into Cambodia to attack North Vietnamese base areas and supply caches; the announcement set off campus protests, including at Kent State.
Also on Panel 11W, Line 88
- JOHN CALVIN SHERMANStaff Sergeant · May 2, 1970
- GEORGE DALE SLYEStaff Sergeant · May 2, 1970
- RODNEY HAROLD STONECaptain · May 2, 1970
- ANDREW JAMES TAYLORSergeant First Class · May 2, 1970
From Lafayette
- ROBERT LEE MANNCaptain · October 22, 1965
- JAMES DARRYL BASHAMPrivate First Class · September 7, 1966
- CHARLES ALLEN KNOCHELLieutenant · September 22, 1966
- ROBERT JOE HARDESTYSpecialist Four · December 27, 1966
- DAVID LEROY HOWARDPrivate First Class · September 14, 1967
- WILLIAM ROBERT JENNETTSpecialist Four · April 26, 1968
- THOMAS HAROLD NERINIPrivate First Class · May 27, 1968
- RANDELL HOOD LOYSpecialist Four · September 4, 1968
- STEVEN RANDALL BROOKSLance Corporal · September 13, 1968
- DOYLE EUGENE SALLEECorporal · November 12, 1968
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.