The Wall › Panel 50E › Oklahoma › Sammy Ray Smith
SAMMY RAY SMITH
Sergeant · U.S. Army
October 23, 1946 – April 16, 1968
Service recordSammy Ray Smith, of El Reno, Oklahoma, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on April 16, 1968, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 21. His name is inscribed on Panel 50E, Line 22 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 50E · Line 22
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
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- October 23, 1946
- Home of record
- El Reno, Oklahoma (Canadian County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- April 16, 1968
- Age
- 21
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
74 names on the Wall carry the date April 16, 1968; five of them were lost in Thừa Thiên Province. In April 1968, 1,580 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 189 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 50E, Line 22
- DONALD C SMITHSergeant · April 16, 1968
- ERNEST WILLIAM SMITHSpecialist Four · April 16, 1968
- ESMOND EMERSON SNELL JRFirst Lieutenant · April 16, 1968
- NATHANIEL MEARLO WILLIAMSPrivate First Class · April 16, 1968
Same unit, same day
- REGINALD CONRAD BELLSpecialist Four · Panel 50E, Line 11
- GARY PAUL MERINGAPrivate First Class · Panel 50E, Line 18
- STEPHEN ERIC SEIFERTHPrivate First Class · Panel 50E, Line 21
- NORMAN WESLEY TARPLEYSpecialist Four · Panel 50E, Line 23
- LARRY DEAN WARRENPrivate First Class · Panel 50E, Line 23
From El Reno
- RONALD LEE WATSONSpecialist Four · August 25, 1966
- JAMES TERENCE BAYNELance Corporal · September 18, 1966
- DONALD LEE GUSTAFSONStaff Sergeant · May 8, 1967
- ALPHA LEE BUFORDPrivate First Class · November 8, 1967
- CLARENCE FINLEY BLANTONLieutenant Colonel · March 11, 1968
- JOE ED RILEY JRSpecialist Four · May 10, 1968
- ROBERT DEAN PLATOMaster Sergeant · May 20, 1968
- JOHN MARSHALL HOLLOWAYStaff Sergeant · February 14, 1969
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.