Joseph Stanley Smith ★ Vietnam War Gold Star Veteran from Illinois
On April 4, 1971 Captain Smith was declared a casualty of the Vietnam War. ★ He served with honor in the United States Air Force. ★ He is remembered by the people of Illinois. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
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Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of Joseph Stanley 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 2018-07-08 15:02:17.
Missing : Core Data
· Military occupation or specialty
Missing : Supplemental Data
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Service Details
| This Profile ID | 321740 |
| Service ID | 322404961 |
| Name | Joseph Stanley Smith |
| From | Assumption, Christian County, Illinois |
| Birth Date | May 7, 1945 |
| Casualty Date | April 4, 1971 |
| War | Vietnam War |
| Service Branch | Air Force |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit/Group | 7th Air Force, 37th Tfw, 612th Tfs |
| Casualty Type | Hostile Died While Missing, Air Loss Crash .. Land, Fixed Wing .. Pilot .. Body not recovered |
| Location | Cambodia |
| Burial | Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial and Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, Assumption, Illinois |
| Notable Awards |
★ Purple Heart |
| Remembered | 
Joseph Stanley Smith is buried or memorialized at Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial and Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, Assumption, Illinois. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location.  Joseph is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 04w, Line 106. |
Additional Details
Captain Smith was a member of the 612nd Tactical Fighter Squadron. On April 4, 1971, he was the pilot of a North American Super Sabre Fighter (F-100D) on a mission over Kampong Thum Province, Cambodia, when he was shot down. His remains were not recovered at the time.Cambodia teams along with specialists from the US POW/MIA, investigated the loss from 1996 until 2016. His remains were finally located and identified using DNA and laboratory analysis in May 2017. He was found with the wreckage of his F-100. |
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.
★ Purple Heart
★ National Defense Service Medal
★ Vietnam Campaign Medal
★ Vietnam Service Medal
★ Air Force 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.Illinois Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of Illinois 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.
▶ Illinois was home to over 28,684 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 4,577 World War I
• 19,319 World War II
• 1,845 Korean War
• 2,943 Vietnam War
• 395 Prisoners of war
• 4,737 Missing in action
• 124 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 214 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 29 Medal of Honor recipients
• 19,319 World War II
• 1,845 Korean War
• 2,943 Vietnam War
• 395 Prisoners of war
• 4,737 Missing in action
• 124 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 214 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 29 Medal of Honor recipients
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▼ 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
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Balboa Park Veterans Museum
Located at Balboa Park in San Diego, the Veterans Museum honors the service of all who served their country in the U.S. Armed Forces. Documenting their experiences and preserving their legacy for future generations through their individual stories.
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Grace - Thank you for this tribute to our fallen veterans. They were wonderful young men who died way too young. It is sad.
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