HONORED ON PANEL 4W, LINE 106 OF THE WALL
JOSEPH STANLEY SMITH
WALL NAME
JOSEPH S SMITH
PANEL / LINE
4W/106
DATE OF BIRTH
DATE OF CASUALTY
HOME OF RECORD
COUNTY OF RECORD
STATE
BRANCH OF SERVICE
RANK
ASSOCIATED ITEMS LEFT AT THE WALL
REMEMBRANCES
LEFT FOR JOSEPH STANLEY SMITH
POSTED ON 12.4.2023
POSTED BY: john fabris
honoring you.....
Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. I am heartened you returned home after the passage of so many years though I wish it had been under very different circumstances. May you rest in eternal peace.
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POSTED ON 8.3.2022
POSTED BY: [email protected]
Final Mission of 1LT Joseph S. Smith
At 3:28 PM on April 4, 1971, 1LT Joseph S. Smith was scrambled form Phan Rang Airbase on a combat mission over Cambodia in a U.S. Air Force North American F-100D Super Sabre (#56-3120), call sign Blade 05, from the 612th Tactical Fighter Squadron. Smith was the lead aircraft in a flight of two. He had made four consecutive passes on his target, and his fifth was to be a strafing run. The approach was normal until just before he reached the target. At that time, his jet appeared to level off, and as he passed over his objective, white vapor was observed streaming from the left wing. The Super Sabre continued ahead in a slight descent and rolled inverted until impacting the ground one-half mile from the target. The jet slid approximately 200 yards and started to burn. No ejection was seen; however, ground haze was extremely heavy in the area causing poor visibility. No beepers were heard. Groundfire was not reported in the area although it was a known enemy location, and the crash was attributed to enemy fire. An aerial search was conducted the following day. The aircraft wreckage was seen to be strewn over a large area. The ejection seat was observed face down, but Smith could not be seen. Intense enemy activity in the area precluded recovery action by ground forces. In January 1995, a team investigated the crash site and found pieces of wreckage consistent with Smith’s Super Sabre; however, no remains of Smith were located. In 2002, another team excavated the crash site in Cambodia and recovered human remains. Fifteen years later, modern forensic techniques identified these remains as those of Smith. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and pownetwork.org]
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POSTED ON 3.24.2022
POSTED BY: Lucy Micik
Burial information
Capt. Joseph Smith is buried at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Illinois.
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POSTED ON 3.24.2022
POSTED BY: Lucy Micik
Thank You
Dear Capt. Joseph Smith, Thank you for your service as a Tactical Aircraft Pilot. Glad you were identified in 2017. Welcome Home. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Spring has begun, and it's Lent. Time moves quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.
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