The Wall › Panel 7W › Michigan › Preston Lee Smith
PRESTON LEE SMITH
First Lieutenant · U.S. Army
September 23, 1947 – September 5, 1970
Service recordPreston Lee Smith, of Essexville, Michigan, served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He died on September 5, 1970, in Binh Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 22. His name is inscribed on Panel 7W, Line 40 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 7W · Line 40
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
- First Lieutenant (1LT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Unit (as recorded)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- September 23, 1947
- Home of record
- Essexville, Michigan (Bay County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- September 5, 1970
- Age
- 22
- Province
- Binh Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
12 names on the Wall carry the date September 5, 1970; three of them were lost in Bình Định Province. In September 1970, 364 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 4th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 34 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 7W, Line 40
- EMIL JOHN NAASZFirst Lieutenant · September 5, 1970
- RONALD LEE POLANDSergeant · September 5, 1970
- LUIS RAMOSSergeant · September 5, 1970
- CHESTER ROY REESE JRSpecialist Five · September 5, 1970
From Essexville
- GERALD JAMES COLLIERSpecialist Four · October 15, 1966
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.