The Wall › Panel 42W › Illinois › Thomas Joseph Smoczynski
THOMAS JOSEPH SMOCZYNSKI
Private First Class · U.S. Army
September 3, 1948 – September 24, 1968
Service recordThomas Joseph Smoczynski, of Chicago, Illinois, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on September 24, 1968, in Pleiku Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 42W, Line 3 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 42W · Line 3
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
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- September 3, 1948
- Home of record
- Chicago, Illinois (Cook County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- September 24, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Pleiku
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
40 names on the Wall carry the date September 24, 1968; four of them were lost in Pleiku Province. In September 1968, 1,184 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 4th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 85 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 42W, Line 3
- ROBERT ENOCH WILLIAMSCorporal · September 23, 1968
- WILLIAM CLAYTON WRAYPrivate First Class · September 23, 1968
- JOE CLEVELAND BERRYCorporal · September 24, 1968
- KARL RICHARD HARINGSergeant · September 24, 1968
Same unit, same day
- LOUIS ANDREW NIEMEYER JRSergeant · Panel 42W, Line 6
- MICHAEL ALLEN NIEZGODASergeant · Panel 42W, Line 6
- JAMES E PENNINGTON JRCorporal · Panel 42W, Line 7
- JOSEPH KENT SEARLESpecialist Four · Panel 42W, Line 7
- PAUL JOHN SILBERBERGERMajor · Panel 42W, Line 7
- SAMUEL FREDERICK ANKNEYFirst Lieutenant · Panel 42W, Line 8
From Chicago
- MELVIN LESTER WATERSPrivate · February 10, 1965
- WILLIAM RALPH FUHRMANPetty Officer Third Class · April 23, 1965
- RAYMOND LEON HORNCorporal · May 1, 1965
- ARTHUR C JEPSON JRCaptain · May 16, 1965
- DONALD CLAY DEDMONStaff Sergeant · June 10, 1965
- ROGER PELIKANLance Corporal · July 17, 1965
- HARRY COHENTechnical Sergeant · July 19, 1969
- CURTIS LOCKHARTPrivate First Class · July 30, 1965
- EDWARD KOPECPrivate First Class · August 18, 1965
- JAMES LEO WHITELance Corporal · August 19, 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.