The WallVietnam Veterans Memorial · The Lake Norman Brief
A 5th Special Forces Group sergeant teaches Civilian Irregular Defense Group trainees, March 1967.
A 5th Special Forces Group sergeant teaches Civilian Irregular Defense Group trainees, March 1967. Photo: SP5 Robert C. Lafoon, DASPO, U.S. Army, public domain. Shown for the time and place, not a photograph of Richard Lee Smith.

The Wall › Panel 9W › South Carolina › Richard Lee Smith

RICHARD LEE SMITH

Master Sergeant · U.S. Army

June 27, 1930 – July 5, 1970

Service record

Richard Lee Smith, of West Columbia, South Carolina, served as a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on July 5, 1970, in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, at age 40. His name is inscribed on Panel 9W, Line 123 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

On the Wall

Panel 9W · Line 123

Position of Panel 9W on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

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
Master Sergeant (MSG)
Service
Regular
Unit (as recorded)
SPECIAL FORCES
Born
June 27, 1930
Home of record
West Columbia, South Carolina (Lexington County)

Casualty

Date of death
July 5, 1970
Age
40
Province
Kontum
Country
South Vietnam
Casualty type
Hostile
Category
Killed in Action
Circumstance
Small Arms Fire

Context · from the records

What was happening

11 names on the Wall carry the date July 5, 1970; two of them were lost in Kon Tum Province. In July 1970, 495 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.

Special Forces, his unit in the record, lost 8 of its members that month.

Also on Panel 9W, Line 123

Same unit, same day

From West Columbia

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.