The Wall › Panel 34W › Maryland › Victor Arlon Smith
VICTOR ARLON SMITH
Captain · U.S. Air Force
February 28, 1943 – January 17, 1969
Service recordVictor Arlon Smith, of Silver Spring, Maryland, served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force. He died on January 17, 1969, in Laos, at age 25. His name is inscribed on Panel 34W, Line 29 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 34W · Line 29
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
- Captain (CAPT)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Pilot (1115F)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 390 TFS 366 TFW
- Born
- February 28, 1943
- Home of record
- Silver Spring, Maryland (Montgomery County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- January 17, 1969
- Age
- 25
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
56 names on the Wall carry the date January 17, 1969. In January 1969, 985 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
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 34W, Line 29
- JEFFREY DAVID RUPPPrivate First Class · January 17, 1969
- STANLEY K RYKACZEWSKIFirst Lieutenant · January 17, 1969
- TERRY CLEO SIMISONPetty Officer Second Class · January 17, 1969
- CURTIS FRANCIS THORNTONLance Corporal · January 17, 1969
From Silver Spring
- WAYNE THOMAS LUNDELLSpecialist Four · November 17, 1965
- TERRY WINTERMOYERSpecialist Four · November 22, 1965
- JAMES EDWARD LOVELance Corporal · December 5, 1965
- JOHN MICHAEL BOWERSLance Corporal · March 21, 1966
- WILLIAM ARTHUR STACY JRCaptain · March 21, 1966
- RICHARD CLIFTON SMITHCorporal · April 6, 1966
- RALPH SIMONPrivate First Class · June 11, 1966
- WILLIAM JOSEPH BOEHMPrivate First Class · June 22, 1967
- ROBERT HATCHER SWAINPetty Officer Second Class · July 29, 1967
- WILLIAM ANTHONY WILKSecond Lieutenant · July 29, 1967
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.