Elmelindo Rodrigues Smith ★ Vietnam War Gold Star Veteran from Hawaii

On February 16, 1967 Platoon Sergeant Smith was declared a casualty of the Vietnam War. ★ He served with honor in the United States Army. ★ He is remembered by the people of Hawaii. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.

Elmelindo Rodrigues Smith

Vietnam War

Hawaii

▶ Submit Update Request

▼ Content Integrity Note

Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of Elmelindo Rodrigues Smith is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2015-09-07 11:31:34.

View Missing Items List

Missing : Supplemental Data

· Educational background
· Parents, family history
· Expanded references and citations

▲ Show Less

Service Details

This Profile ID	298752
Service ID	10106850
Name	Elmelindo Rodrigues Smith
From	Wahiawa, Honolulu County, Hawaii
Birth Date	July 27, 1935
Casualty Date	February 16, 1967
War	Vietnam War
Service Branch	Army
Rank	Platoon Sergeant
Specialty	Light Weapons Infantry
Unit/Group	4th Infantry Division, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry, C Company
Casualty Type	Died through hostile action .. small arms fire
Location	Plei Trap Valley S of LZ (landing zone) 501, South Vietnam, Kontum province
Burial	National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu
Notable Awards	★ Purple Heart
Remembered	Elmelindo Rodrigues Smith is buried or memorialized at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location. Elmelindo is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 15e, Line 51.

Additional Details

Smith, an American of Hispanic/Asian descent, was born in Wahiawa, a town located in the center of Oahu. He joined the United States Army in 1953 and was stationed in various countries overseas, among them was Okinawa.

During his stay in Okinawa, he met a Hawaiian born WAC by the name of Jane and soon they were married. They established their home in a military post in Tacoma, Washington and had two daughters.

On July 23, 1966, Smith was sent to the Republic of Vietnam and served as Platoon Sergeant of the 1st Platoon, Company C, 2d Battalion, 8th Infantry of the 4th Infantry Division.

On February 16, 1967, Sergeant Rodrigues Smith was leading his platoon in a reconnaissance patrol, when suddenly it came under attack. Despite the fact that he was wounded, he coordinated a counterattack by positioning his men and distributing ammunition. He was struck by a rocket, but continued to expose himself in order to direct his men's fire upon the approaching enemy.

He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Commendations + Awards

Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.

★ Combat Infantryman Badge

★ Purple Heart

★ Marksmanship Badge

★ National Defense Service Medal

★ Vietnam Campaign Medal

★ Vietnam Service Medal

★ Army Presidential Unit Citation

★ Vietnam Gallantry Cross

Notable Reference Sources

These are typically links to pages on external sites that have provided specific nodes of information. In most cases the information has some assurance of being crowd-sourced and vetted by a community of users.

vvmf.org/ Wall-of-Faces/ 48200/ ELMELINDO-R-SMITH

Hawaii Gold Star Veterans Gallery

Honoring the men and women of Hawaii who gave their all for their country. May their example of courage and sacrifice be our guide. To be strong and responsible in our lives as citizens of the world. Through honest daily actions, we honor them.

▶ Hawaii was home to over 827 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:

• 147 World War II
• 403 Korean War
• 277 Vietnam War
• 23 Prisoners of war
• 149 Missing in action
• 17 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 3 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 9 Medal of Honor recipients

Guardians of Honor Credits

▼ Organizational Supporters - HonorStates.org and the National Unified Archive of American Gold Star Veterans is stringently curated. This attention to quality extends to our supporters program. We carefully research and screen prospective organizations we perceive as being suitably aligned with our mission

▶ National D-Day Memorial ▶ San Diego Coin & Bullion ▶ American Veterans Center 75th D-Day Congressional Reception ▶ USS Midway Museum 75th Pearl Harbor Wall of Honor

▼ Research Contributors - Groups and individuals who have been directly responsible for curating content. Some are experienced historians and archivists, others are enthusiastic members of the public who have suggested content additions or corrections.

Honor States Admin Roy "Joker" Sarah Jo "Lady Chaos"

▼ Primary Sources - These are repositories for artifacts, documents, diaries, manuscripts, and other information that serve as original and authoritative sources of information.

National Archives (NARA) Library of Congress (LOC) Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) Findagrave.com Ancestry.com

Honoring our fallen. Together. Uniting us in meaningful common cause. When we work together to honor our Gold Star veterans, we heal our nation together. It's a team effort. Everyone's invited to join as a Citizen Historian and Guardian of Honor. - learn more

Here is Some Important Information!

Walgreens Supported National Memorial Day Parade

Thanks to Walgreens for contributing over 300 posters honoring the fallen at Normandy. These were carried by kids in the 2019 Spirit of 45 Memorial Day March of Heroes that paid tribute to the thousands who gave their lives to the cause of freedom during the liberation of Europe.

★ Featured National Supporter

▶ Click to Learn More

Our Supporters are Essential Team Members! - learn more

We appreciate the generous help + encouragement from our research teams, volunteers, and foundational supporters. Each of them are essential team members contributing to the archive building progress.

learn more

Honor States and the National Unified Archive of American Gold Star Veterans has an established policy of developing "most complete" datasets. These are groups, campaigns and actions of special historical significance. Some notable examples include:

learn more

It's required 8+ years, 1000s of skilled labor hours, scores of active contributors, and millions of visitors to realize the value in the National Unified Archive of American Gold Star Veterans. We have not satisfied everyone. That's impossible, considering the unique + personal needs of individuals. However, our annual positivity ratings exceed 95%. It's tough to get that many people to agree on anything. So, we do seem to be on the right track.

learn more

None of us would be who we are, or have what we have, if not for the strengths and sacrifices of others. Most of us enjoy lives of relative freedom. Our freedom has come at enormous cost. The price paid by those who gave their all. In service to their country, states and communities. Each of them a beloved member of our global family.

learn more

You meet a new friend. Common question. "Where are you from"? Alabama. Ohio. California. Grew up in the Bronx. Family lives in Pasadena. Went to school in Boston. Worked in Chicago. We have roots everywhere. These state and community identities are foundational in defining who Americans are at heart. It's the who and what we fight for when pressed.

learn more

Ronnie - It's so easy to take our freedoms for granted. I'm guilty of that. Thanks to Honor States and these daily reminders.

Corvin - Young people of all generations need to know the sacrifices made by those who preceded them. I'm impressed with the work you're doing.

Wayne - I am so very proud of all our men and woman that have served and are serving. Our family owes a debt we can never pay in full.

Janine - I appreciate the opportunity to learn about the lives of American's who gave all for their country. We owe them everything!