The Wall › Panel 32W › New York › James William Smith JR
JAMES WILLIAM SMITH JR
Lance Corporal · U.S. Marine Corps
March 28, 1948 – February 10, 1969
Service recordJames William Smith JR, of Washingtonville, New York, served as a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on February 10, 1969, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 32W, Line 9 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 32W · Line 9
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. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Lance Corporal (LCPL)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Machinegunner (0331)
- Born
- March 28, 1948
- Home of record
- Washingtonville, New York (Orange County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 10, 1969
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Quang Tri
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Artillery/Mortar/Rocket
Context · from the records
What was happening
32 names on the Wall carry the date February 10, 1969; 14 of them were lost in Quảng Trị Province. In February 1969, 1,304 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 32W, Line 9
- JAMES RILEY PHILLIPSLance Corporal · February 10, 1969
- FRED EARL PITTSLance Corporal · February 10, 1969
- MCKINLEY RICE JRCorporal · February 10, 1969
- CESAR RODRIGO RODRIGUEZPrivate First Class · February 10, 1969
From Washingtonville
- ROBERT RERASergeant · March 10, 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.