The Wall › Panel 17W › Mississippi › Willie James Smith
WILLIE JAMES SMITH
Sergeant · U.S. Army
February 7, 1950 – September 25, 1969
Service recordWillie James Smith, of Greenwood, Mississippi, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on September 25, 1969, in Gia Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 17W, Line 8 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 17W · Line 8
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
- Regular
- Occupation
- Cannon Fire Direction Specialist (13E)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 82 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- February 7, 1950
- Home of record
- Greenwood, Mississippi (Leflore County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- September 25, 1969
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Gia Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Non-hostile
- Category
- Accident
- Circumstance
- Drowning
Context · from the records
What was happening
12 names on the Wall carry the date September 25, 1969; two of them were lost in Gia Dinh Province. In September 1969, 664 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 82nd Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 6 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 17W, Line 8
- T Z MERRIWEATHERPrivate First Class · September 25, 1969
- LONNIE RONALD PARKERFireman · September 25, 1969
- JAMES ERVIN TOMPKINSStaff Sergeant · September 25, 1969
- RANDY VAN TURNERFirst Lieutenant · September 25, 1969
From Greenwood
- BOOKER T WRIGHTPrivate First Class · September 13, 1968
- CHARLES E WILSON JRSpecialist Four · May 12, 1969
- JOSEPH LEE RHODESLance Corporal · May 28, 1969
- ALBERT LEE DELANEYPrivate First Class · July 2, 1969
- CALVIN BUSTER CHILDRESSSergeant First Class · October 19, 1971
- ROBERT LEE HARLEYSpecialist Four · September 11, 1972
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.