The Wall › Panel 53W › Iowa › Herman Smits JR
HERMAN SMITS JR
Major · U.S. Air Force
December 21, 1929 – July 5, 1968
Service recordHerman Smits JR, of Scranton, Iowa, served as a Major in the U.S. Air Force. He died on July 5, 1968, in Phu Yen Province, South Vietnam, at age 38. His name is inscribed on Panel 53W, Line 23 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 53W · Line 23
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
Did you know him? Family members and friends are invited to share a photograph or a memory. Nothing is posted until it has been reviewed.
Service
- Branch
- U.S. Air Force
- Rank
- Major (MAJ)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Born
- December 21, 1929
- Home of record
- Scranton, Iowa (Greene County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- July 5, 1968
- Age
- 38
- Province
- Phu Yen
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
53 names on the Wall carry the date July 5, 1968; he was the only one lost in Phu Yen Province that day. In July 1968, 993 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
Also on Panel 53W, Line 23
- THOMAS LEE MCELROYPrivate First Class · July 5, 1968
- WILLIAM REYESLance Corporal · July 5, 1968
- GERARD JUDE SANDERSLance Corporal · July 5, 1968
- EDWARD DEAN SILVERLieutenant Colonel · July 5, 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.