Date of Birth: 12/08/1944
Neighborhood: North Philadelphia
High School: The Simon Gratz High School
Street: W. Somerset Street
Branch of Service: Marine Corps
Rank: CPL
Date of Casualty: 12/13/1966
Province of Casualty: Quang Tin
Philadelphia Memorial Panel: Panel 28
Panel Row: 11
Click on the memorial panel below for a printable photo of the serviceman on this page.
The Simon Gratz High School graduate enlisted in the Marine Corps in December 1963 and while going through basic training at Parris Island, S.C., sang in the Protestant Chapel Choir. The squad leader was assigned to Company F of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, in Vietnam. Smith was critically wounded near Chu Lai, Quang Tin Province, Vietnam, in the accidental discharge of a fellow Marine's weapon, and died on Dec. 13, 1966, at the hospital at Clark Air Base, Philippines, five days after his 22nd birthday. The corporal was survived by his wife, parents and five sisters.