The Wall › Panel 33E › California › Smith Swords III
SMITH SWORDS III
Colonel · U.S. Air Force
July 17, 1929 – December 30, 1967
Service recordSmith Swords III, of Los Angeles, California, served as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on December 30, 1967, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 33E, Line 5 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 33E · Line 5
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. Air Force
- Rank
- Colonel (COL)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Occupation
- Pilot (1115F)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 480 TFS
- Born
- July 17, 1929
- Home of record
- Los Angeles, California (Los Angeles County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- December 30, 1967
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
24 names on the Wall carry the date December 30, 1967. In December 1967, 937 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “480 TFS”, his unit in the record, lost 2 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
Also on Panel 33E, Line 5
- CLARENCE MATTUE ADAMSStaff Sergeant · December 30, 1967
- JOHN WAYNE STILLEYSpecialist Four · December 30, 1967
- LOUIS SUTERA JRSergeant · December 30, 1967
- THOMAS JAMES TINGLEYLance Corporal · December 30, 1967
Same unit, same day
- MURRAY LAMAR WORTHAMCaptain · Panel 33E, Line 6
From Los Angeles
- JAMES WILLIAM MCNALLYTechnical Sergeant · October 23, 1963
- FRANK JOHN HOLGUINPrivate First Class · March 15, 1964
- RICHARD DEAN GOSSCaptain · August 29, 1964
- JOHN LOWERY MCCOYSergeant First Class · September 26, 1964
- JAMES HENRY MCLEANMaster Sergeant · February 9, 1965
- DWIGHT GLENN FRAKESChief Petty Officer · February 24, 1965
- AARON HAROLD WESTERNPrivate First Class · June 16, 1965
- EDWARD JAMES ANDERSPrivate First Class · June 18, 1965
- MAURICE RICHARD HILLPrivate · June 29, 1965
- WILLIAM WARREN HAILLieutenant Colonel · August 2, 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.