The Wall › Panel 2W › New York › Edward Dewilton Smith JR
EDWARD DEWILTON SMITH JR
Master Sergeant · U.S. Air Force
November 29, 1944 – March 29, 1972
Service recordEdward Dewilton Smith JR, of Red Creek, New York, served as a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on March 29, 1972, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 2W, Line 123 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 2W · Line 123
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. Air Force
- Rank
- Master Sergeant (MSGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Weapons Mechanic (46250)
- Born
- November 29, 1944
- Home of record
- Red Creek, New York (Wayne County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- March 29, 1972
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
Context · from the records
What was happening
18 names on the Wall carry the date March 29, 1972. In March 1972, 69 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 2W, Line 123
- DAVID PRESTON SHELTONPrivate First Class · March 29, 1972
- ROBERT EUGENE SIMMONSMaster Sergeant · March 29, 1972
- HOWARD DAVID STEPHENSONLieutenant Colonel · March 29, 1972
- KENNETH RICHARD VOSSpecialist Four · March 29, 1972
From Red Creek
- JOHN DEWEY LIVINGSTONSergeant · October 16, 1970
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.