The Wall › Panel 55E › California › William Thomas Smiley
WILLIAM THOMAS SMILEY
Private First Class · U.S. Army
May 7, 1947 – May 5, 1968
Service recordWilliam Thomas Smiley, of Fresno, California, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on May 5, 1968, in Pleiku Province, South Vietnam, at age 20. His name is inscribed on Panel 55E, Line 31 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 55E · Line 31
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
- Armor Reconnaissance Specialist (11D)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- May 7, 1947
- Home of record
- Fresno, California (Fresno County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- May 5, 1968
- Age
- 20
- Province
- Pleiku
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Artillery/Mortar/Rocket
Context · from the records
What was happening
189 names on the Wall carry the date May 5, 1968; 20 of them were lost in Pleiku Province. In May 1968, 2,418 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 4th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 99 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 55E, Line 31
- TOMMY LOREN SHEHORNSpecialist Four · May 5, 1968
- WILLIAM CHARLES SHELDONSeaman · May 5, 1968
- PAUL WESLEY SMITHChief Warrant Officer 2 · May 5, 1968
- HOWARD JOSEPH SPEARSpecialist Five · May 5, 1968
Same unit, same day
- DARRIUS WAYNE ADAMSCorporal · Panel 54E, Line 42
- GARY LEE BOUNDSPrivate First Class · Panel 55E, Line 3
- NICHOLAS S CONAXISPrivate First Class · Panel 55E, Line 7
- JOHN W ECKELLSpecialist Four · Panel 55E, Line 10
- RAYMOND LEON GEE JRSergeant · Panel 55E, Line 12
- JOHN ROY KNORRSpecialist Four · Panel 55E, Line 19
- RONALD MIDDLETONPrivate · Panel 55E, Line 21
- MICHAEL STEVEN OSTEENSpecialist Four · Panel 55E, Line 25
- LYNLEY LEE RASHSpecialist Four · Panel 55E, Line 28
- SAMUEL EUGENE WATKINSPrivate First Class · Panel 55E, Line 34
From Fresno
- FRANK DUVALL WILLIAMSSpecialist Five · December 11, 1964
- HENRY THOMAS LUNAPrivate First Class · November 17, 1965
- CARL MICHAEL HUMESpecialist Four · November 17, 1965
- DANNY JAY MCGRIFFPrivate First Class · February 28, 1966
- MICHAEL B MAULDINPrivate First Class · May 17, 1966
- DONALD THEODORE ERICKSONStaff Sergeant · August 2, 1966
- JOE MAGDALENO BALLIN JRLance Corporal · September 16, 1966
- MANUEL AVILA JRPetty Officer Third Class · November 12, 1966
- VICENTE ZUNIGASpecialist Four · December 21, 1966
- MICHAEL R BROWNPrivate First Class · December 29, 1966
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.