The Wall › Panel 3E › Michigan › Willie James Smith JR
WILLIE JAMES SMITH JR
Private First Class · U.S. Army
March 7, 1946 – October 28, 1965
Service recordWillie James Smith JR, of Detroit, Michigan, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on October 28, 1965, in South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 3E, Line 4 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 3E · Line 4
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)
- 1 INF DIV
- Born
- March 7, 1946
- Home of record
- Detroit, Michigan (Wayne County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- October 28, 1965
- Age
- 19
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
18 names on the Wall carry the date October 28, 1965. In October 1965, 236 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 26 of its members that month.
Also on Panel 3E, Line 4
- ROBERT JOSEPH FAYCommander · October 28, 1965
- JOSEPH JOHN SCHUSTERStaff Sergeant · October 28, 1965
- RESTITUTO POBLETE ADENIRPetty Officer Third Class · October 29, 1965
- RONALD VICTOR BACCAPrivate · October 30, 1965
From Detroit
- SAMUEL EUGENE HURDAirman Third Class · January 3, 1964
- LEO BERT ABRAMOSKICaptain · July 28, 1964
- GEORGE PAUL ZUPANCICCorporal · June 26, 1965
- MARSHALL DANIEL HOLMANPrivate First Class · July 9, 1965
- ELIAS BELL JRCorporal · July 13, 1965
- ARTHUR F HAMMARSTROM JRLieutenant Colonel · July 24, 1965
- JAMES THOMAS CLARKPrivate · August 17, 1965
- BRUCE JAMES HENRICHPrivate First Class · August 18, 1965
- ROBERT TAGLIONESergeant · August 18, 1965
- MERRILL LAGENE LANTRYCorporal · September 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.