The Wall › Panel 48E › California › Richard John Smith
RICHARD JOHN SMITH
Hospitalman · U.S. Navy
August 12, 1946 – April 8, 1968
Service recordRichard John Smith, of Long Beach, California, served as a Hospitalman in the U.S. Navy. He died on April 8, 1968, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 48E, Line 55 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 48E · Line 55
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. Navy
- Rank
- Hospitalman (HN)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Hospital Corpsman (HM)
- Born
- August 12, 1946
- Home of record
- Long Beach, California (Los Angeles County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 8, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Quang Tri
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Burns/Smoke Inhalation
Context · from the records
What was happening
31 names on the Wall carry the date April 8, 1968; seven of them were lost in Quảng Trị Province. In April 1968, 1,580 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Quảng Trị Province while the siege of Khe Sanh was under way. From 21 January 1968, North Vietnamese divisions besieged the Marine combat base at Khe Sanh and its hill outposts near the Laotian border for 77 days, while U.S. aircraft dropped some 100,000 tons of bombs around it. Operation Pegasus reached the base on 8 April. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
Read the history
Also on Panel 48E, Line 55
- HARRY ERNEST SMITHPrivate First Class · April 8, 1968
- JON FRANCIS VANDUYNStaff Sergeant · April 8, 1968
- BILLY JOE VICKERSPrivate First Class · April 8, 1968
- WILLIAM OSCAR WAGNERSpecialist Four · April 8, 1968
From Long Beach
- PETER ANTHONY SEMMERPrivate First Class · February 11, 1965
- RICHARD GRAHAM ALLENPrivate First Class · March 4, 1966
- IVAN JOSEPH BROYLESSergeant · April 21, 1966
- RICHARD EYRE CROWELance Corporal · May 29, 1966
- FRANZ GERHARD PREDIGERSpecialist Four · June 30, 1966
- ANTHONY ROBERT BOSHPrivate First Class · September 7, 1966
- GERALD JOHNSONPrivate First Class · November 15, 1966
- MICHAEL PAUL MCCONAHAYPrivate First Class · November 23, 1966
- EDMOND SANMARCOSPrivate First Class · December 19, 1966
- MARSHAL LYNN HORTONSpecialist Four · December 25, 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.