The Wall › Panel 29W › Minnesota › Richard William Smith
RICHARD WILLIAM SMITH
Private First Class · U.S. Marine Corps
August 8, 1949 – March 14, 1969
Service recordRichard William Smith, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Marine Corps. He died on March 14, 1969, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 29W, Line 40 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 29W · 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. Marine Corps
- Rank
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Rifleman (0311)
- Born
- August 8, 1949
- Home of record
- Minneapolis, Minnesota (Hennepin County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 14, 1969
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Quang Tri
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Artillery/Mortar/Rocket
Context · from the records
What was happening
37 names on the Wall carry the date March 14, 1969; 15 of them were lost in Quảng Trị Province. In March 1969, 1,553 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Quảng Trị Province while Operation Dewey Canyon was under way. In Operation Dewey Canyon (22 January–18 March 1969) the 9th Marines struck North Vietnamese base areas in the Đa Krông and A Shau valleys, the last major Marine offensive of the war. 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 29W, Line 40
- JAMES LAWRENCE RIPANTIFirst Lieutenant · March 14, 1969
- VERN ERNEST ROOTPrivate First Class · March 14, 1969
- ANTONIO ELIZONDO RUIZPrivate First Class · March 14, 1969
- ELBERT JAMES SAULSSergeant First Class · March 14, 1969
From Minneapolis
- WILLIAM EDWARD SWANSONLieutenant · April 11, 1965
- MICHAEL JOHN ULICSNIPetty Officer First Class · September 8, 1964
- DENNIS LEROY PIERSONPrivate First Class · June 26, 1965
- DON GLENN KNOWLTONWarrant Officer 1 · October 20, 1965
- ROGER MICHAEL MANNIESergeant · October 28, 1965
- TRENT RICHARD POWERSCaptain · October 31, 1965
- DAVID LEONARD UGLANDSecond Lieutenant · November 8, 1965
- WILLIAM MARTIN SAVORENLance Corporal · November 25, 1965
- LAWRENCE FREDRICK RAMAKERSpecialist Four · December 10, 1965
- THOMAS NEWTON SLOANTechnical Sergeant · December 17, 1965
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.