The Wall › Panel 41E › District of Columbia › John Robert Smith JR
JOHN ROBERT SMITH JR
Corporal · U.S. Army
September 4, 1947 – February 28, 1968
Service recordJohn Robert Smith JR, of Washington, District of Columbia, served as a Corporal in the U.S. Army. He died on February 28, 1968, in Dinh Tuong Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 41E, Line 73 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 41E · Line 73
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.
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Corporal (CPL)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 9 INF DIV
- Born
- September 4, 1947
- Home of record
- Washington, District of Columbia (District Of Columbia County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 28, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Dinh Tuong
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Burns/Smoke Inhalation
Context · from the records
What was happening
91 names on the Wall carry the date February 28, 1968; he was the only one lost in Định Tường Province that day. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 9th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 164 of its members that month.
He died in Định Tường Province while the Tet Offensive was under way. Beginning on the night of 30–31 January 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces attacked more than 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. February 1968 was the deadliest month of the war for Americans.
Also on Panel 41E, Line 73
- WALTER CHARLES SHELLITOSergeant First Class · February 28, 1968
- ROBERT LEE SHORTERPrivate First Class · February 28, 1968
- PERRY VERNANDO SHROYERStaff Sergeant · February 28, 1968
- CHARLES ALLAN SMITHCorporal · February 28, 1968
Same unit, same day
- EDGAR JAMES BROSSMANMaster Sergeant · Panel 41E, Line 59
- MELVIN EUGENE CHLOUPEKPrivate First Class · Panel 41E, Line 60
- CLARENCE HENRY BURDETTSergeant First Class · Panel 41E, Line 64
- WILLIAM JOHN JACOBSCorporal · Panel 41E, Line 67
- JOSEPH BION PHILIPSON JRCaptain · Panel 41E, Line 71
- WILLIAM PIERCE RAUBACHSecond Lieutenant · Panel 41E, Line 71
- JIMMIE LESTER TODDMaster Sergeant · Panel 42E, Line 1
From Washington
- HOMER CLEO MCINTYRE JRCaptain · July 28, 1964
- JAMES MARTIN CALEStaff Sergeant · May 16, 1965
- GEZA TEGLASSergeant · October 27, 1965
- LOUIS SHERRODSergeant · November 6, 1965
- LEROY HILLPlatoon Sergeant · November 8, 1965
- CALVIN BOUKNIGHTSpecialist Five · November 16, 1965
- PAUL EDWARD HURDLEStaff Sergeant · November 17, 1965
- THEODORE M BEAMONSpecialist Four · November 23, 1965
- HARRY RONALD HOSKINSONSpecialist Four · December 13, 1965
- WILLIE MITCHELL JRAirman First Class · December 20, 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.