The Wall › Panel 44E › New York › Robert Smeal
ROBERT SMEAL
Sergeant · U.S. Army
January 31, 1947 – March 15, 1968
Service recordRobert Smeal, of Tonawanda, New York, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on March 15, 1968, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 44E, Line 62 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 44E · Line 62
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
- Sergeant (SGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Utility Helicopter Repairer (67N)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 CAV DIV AIRMOBILE
- Born
- January 31, 1947
- Home of record
- Tonawanda, New York (Erie County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 15, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
Context · from the records
What was happening
42 names on the Wall carry the date March 15, 1968; six of them were lost in Thừa Thiên Province. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), his unit in the record, lost 104 of its members that month.
He died in Thừa Thiên Province while the Tet Offensive was under way. Beginning on the night of 30–31 January 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces attacked more than 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. February 1968 was the deadliest month of the war for Americans.
Also on Panel 44E, Line 62
- PATRICK ALAN SHUTTERSFirst Lieutenant · March 15, 1968
- LARRY JOEL TAGGARTPrivate First Class · March 15, 1968
- RICHARD RAMIREZ TESOROSpecialist Four · March 15, 1968
- CHARLES SUMNER WALSHPrivate First Class · March 15, 1968
Same unit, same day
- RONALD ELMER JOHNSStaff Sergeant · Panel 44E, Line 59
- WALTER LEE MCCAHANLieutenant Colonel · Panel 44E, Line 61
- WALTER JOHN PANAMAROFFFirst Lieutenant · Panel 44E, Line 61
- HOWARD PALMA PETTYLieutenant Colonel · Panel 44E, Line 61
- WILLIAM SMYLY WILLIAMS JRPrivate First Class · Panel 44E, Line 63
From Tonawanda
- KENNETH ARTHUR VARNEYPrivate First Class · May 1, 1967
- RONALD FRANCIS SADLERPrivate First Class · March 24, 1968
- MARK EDWARD VANDERHEIDLance Corporal · June 28, 1968
- BURTON WARD DALKESpecialist Four · May 6, 1969
- JAMES ANTHONY GRIFASIStaff Sergeant · March 26, 1970
- ALEX C SPENCE JRWarrant Officer 1 · June 20, 1970
- JAMES LEWIS STEINKIRCHNERSpecialist Four · February 27, 1971
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.