The Wall › Panel 64W › Illinois › John Curtis Smith JR
JOHN CURTIS SMITH JR
Private First Class · U.S. Army
July 10, 1949 – May 28, 1968
Service recordJohn Curtis Smith JR, of Chicago, Illinois, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on May 28, 1968, in Bien Hoa Province, South Vietnam, at age 18. His name is inscribed on Panel 64W, Line 15 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 64W · Line 15
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
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- July 10, 1949
- Home of record
- Chicago, Illinois (Cook County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 28, 1968
- Age
- 18
- Province
- Bien Hoa
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — Passenger (MC)
Context · from the records
What was happening
74 names on the Wall carry the date May 28, 1968; he was the only one lost in Bien Hoa Province that day. In May 1968, 2,418 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Aviation Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 47 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 64W, Line 15
- JULIUS DONALD PRITCHETTGunnery Sergeant · May 28, 1968
- WILLIAM RUSSOLance Corporal · May 28, 1968
- DONALD PHILIP SCHUCKPrivate · May 28, 1968
- MICHAEL STEPHEN SMITHLance Corporal · May 28, 1968
From Chicago
- MELVIN LESTER WATERSPrivate · February 10, 1965
- WILLIAM RALPH FUHRMANPetty Officer Third Class · April 23, 1965
- RAYMOND LEON HORNCorporal · May 1, 1965
- ARTHUR C JEPSON JRCaptain · May 16, 1965
- DONALD CLAY DEDMONStaff Sergeant · June 10, 1965
- ROGER PELIKANLance Corporal · July 17, 1965
- HARRY COHENTechnical Sergeant · July 19, 1969
- CURTIS LOCKHARTPrivate First Class · July 30, 1965
- EDWARD KOPECPrivate First Class · August 18, 1965
- JAMES LEO WHITELance Corporal · August 19, 1965
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.