The Wall › Panel 36E › New York › John Thomas Smith
JOHN THOMAS SMITH
Private First Class · U.S. Army
November 1, 1947 – January 31, 1968
Service recordJohn Thomas Smith, of West Babylon, New York, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on January 31, 1968, in Gia Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 36E, Line 36 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 36E · Line 36
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
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Military Police (95B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- C CO 716 MP BN USARV
- Born
- November 1, 1947
- Home of record
- West Babylon, New York (Suffolk County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 31, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Gia Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
246 names on the Wall carry the date January 31, 1968; 66 of them were lost in Gia Dinh Province. In January 1968, 1,546 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “C CO 716 MP BN USARV”, his unit in the record, lost 11 of its members that month.
He died in Gia Dinh 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 36E, Line 36
- MAXIMILIAN HEINRI SIMMETHMajor · January 31, 1968
- BENNY JAMES SMITHPrivate First Class · January 31, 1968
- DANIEL J SMITHSpecialist Four · January 31, 1968
- DONALD LAMAR SMITHSergeant · January 31, 1968
Same unit, same day
- CAREY C ANTHONYSpecialist Four · Panel 35E, Line 85
- DOUGLAS WILLIAM DOODYSergeant · Panel 36E, Line 6
- RICHARD ALAN GILLEYPrivate First Class · Panel 36E, Line 10
- MICHAEL A GRIEVESergeant · Panel 36E, Line 11
- THOMAS CHARLES HILEYPrivate First Class · Panel 36E, Line 14
- IVAN D HOMSLEYPrivate First Class · Panel 36E, Line 15
- NESTOR OJEDACorporal · Panel 36E, Line 29
- TERRY LEE RIEGELPrivate First Class · Panel 36E, Line 32
- RANDALL KARL SCHUTTCorporal · Panel 36E, Line 34
- JAMES SEIDENSTICKERPrivate First Class · Panel 36E, Line 35
From West Babylon
- ANTHONY ROBERT SIGNASpecialist Four · September 16, 1968
- DENNIS JAMES KANELance Corporal · February 17, 1969
- JOHN CHARLES PAPECaptain · May 18, 1969
- SALVATORE JOSEPH ARMATOPrivate First Class · November 13, 1970
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.