The Wall › Panel 1E › Kansas › Richard Dean Smith
RICHARD DEAN SMITH
Lieutenant Colonel · U.S. Air Force
August 16, 1937 – March 11, 1965
Service recordRichard Dean Smith, of Wichita, Kansas, served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on March 11, 1965, in Binh Dinh Province, South Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 1E, Line 95 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1E · Line 95
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. Air Force
- Rank
- Lieutenant Colonel (LTCOL)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Navigator, Tanker (1535)
- Born
- August 16, 1937
- Home of record
- Wichita, Kansas (Sedgwick County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- March 11, 1965
- Province
- Binh Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
Context · from the records
What was happening
Two names on the Wall carry the date March 11, 1965; he was the only one lost in Bình Định Province that day. In March 1965, 22 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Also on Panel 1E, Line 95
- MARK RICHARDSON CHASESpecialist Four · March 4, 1965
- DEMPSEY H WILLIAMS IIIFirst Lieutenant · March 9, 1965
- WILLIAM CARROLL MATTISCaptain · March 11, 1965
- ROBERT JOHN ACHASLance Corporal · March 14, 1965
From Wichita
- GARY LYNN DICKEYLance Corporal · July 23, 1965
- LOUIS DON ROYSTON JRPrivate First Class · September 1, 1965
- REBEL LEE HOLCOMBSergeant · November 8, 1965
- HENRY GENTRY JRPrivate First Class · December 5, 1965
- DANIEL ALBERT DICKINSONSpecialist Four · December 6, 1965
- DONALD DEAN KARLINCorporal · December 18, 1965
- CHARLES RONALD GURTLERLance Corporal · April 21, 1966
- ROBERT GARY MALONECorporal · July 28, 1966
- JAMES EDWARD REIDPrivate First Class · August 26, 1966
- BOBBY RAY BRYANTPrivate First Class · October 2, 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.