The Wall › Panel 29W › Illinois › James Lee Smith
JAMES LEE SMITH
Private First Class · U.S. Marine Corps
March 25, 1950 – March 13, 1969
Service recordJames Lee Smith, of Washington, Illinois, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on March 13, 1969, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, at age 18. His name is inscribed on Panel 29W, Line 32 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 29W · Line 32
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. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Rifleman (0311)
- Born
- March 25, 1950
- Home of record
- Washington, Illinois (Tazewell County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 13, 1969
- Age
- 18
- Province
- Quang Tri
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
37 names on the Wall carry the date March 13, 1969; eight of them were lost in Quảng Trị Province. In March 1969, 1,553 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Quảng Trị Province while Operation Dewey Canyon was under way. In Operation Dewey Canyon (22 January–18 March 1969) the 9th Marines struck North Vietnamese base areas in the Đa Krông and A Shau valleys, the last major Marine offensive of the war. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
Read the history
Also on Panel 29W, Line 32
- PAUL VINCENZO QUAGLIERIPrivate First Class · March 13, 1969
- ISIEAH RELEFORD JRLance Corporal · March 13, 1969
- RANDALL LEE SHACKELFORDLance Corporal · March 13, 1969
- DONALD EUGENE SIZEMOREPrivate First Class · March 13, 1969
From Washington
- JOHN THOMAS NELSONPetty Officer Second Class · October 27, 1967
- STANLEY BRUCE SMITHWarrant Officer 1 · March 10, 1968
- MICHAEL LEIGH STACYWarrant Officer 1 · March 15, 1969
- TERRY DWIGHT MOORESpecialist Four · March 26, 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.