Remember...
James David Smith
1946-1966
"Being brave means knowing that when you fail, you don't fail forever."
Lana Del Rey
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Remember...James David Smith
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James David Smith was born on September 8, 1946, in Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. He was the youngest of four children born to his mother Ada Christine Clark Smith (1911-1976) and his father Glenn Dacy Smith (1911-1952). His family lived in Masontown, Preston County, West Virginia, where he would grow up. His oldest sister Helen was 14 years older, his brother Dacy was 12 years older, and his sister Kay nearing 7 years older than James. At the age of six, James lost his father, who was known as Dacy. His mother soon remarried, and James became close with his stepfather. (Personal information regarding the life of James David Smith is taken from the more detailed biography written by Dorothy Bonafield Snyder, Not To Be Forgotten: Prestonians Who Died in Vietnam [Dover, DE: 2001]: 57-64.)
| James attended and graduated from Masontown High School in Preston County, West Virginia in 1964, and this is where he met his best friend Eddie Turnley. They enjoyed a shop class together in which they made many things for the school, one being a balance beam that the school used even years later. If James didn't ride the bus, then he wouldn't have a sure ride home unless he were to walk five miles to his house. This left it difficult for him to commit to anything after school because he would not have transportation. However, he did once join the junior school play with Eddie, who would drive him at times. James was a good kid, and he did well in school with average grades, but he would rather have been working with cars and guns. |  |
After high school, like many others, James was looking for a well-paying job. He decided to move to Ohio, where his brother and sister were living. This is where he met Karen Manns, who would later become his wife on May 21, 1965. James started working for Republic Steel as a machine operator on December 16, 1965. While James enjoyed having a steady job, he decided it wasn't for him. As a young adult, James was very interested in cars, and one of his proudest moments was when he replaced his 1956 Oldsmobile with a Buick.
In August 1964, the USS Maddox was allegedly attacked by North Vietnamese patrol torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin (the attack is later disputed), leading President Johnson to call for air strikes on North Vietnamese patrol boat bases. Two U.S. aircraft were shot down, and one U.S. pilot, Everett Alvarez Jr., became the first U.S. airman to be taken prisoner by North Vietnam. The attacks in the Gulf of Tonkin spurred Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which authorized the president to "take all necessary measures, including the use of armed force" against any aggressor in the conflict.
In February 1965, President Johnson ordered the bombing of targets in North Vietnam in Operation Flaming Dart in retaliation for a Viet Cong raid at the U.S. base in the city of Pleiku and at a nearby helicopter base at Camp Holloway. In March, President Johnson launched a three-year campaign of sustained bombing of targets in North Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Operation Rolling Thunder. The same month, U.S. Marines landed on beaches near Da Nang, South Vietnam, as the first American combat troops to enter Vietnam. In July 1965, President Johnson called for 50,000 more ground troops to be sent to Vietnam, increasing the draft to 35,000 each month.
Although James kept trying to avoid being drafted, and even attempted to enlist in the Air Force, he was drafted into the Army on March 5, 1966. On March 9, 1965, he reported to Fort Benning, Georgia, where he completed his basic training on May 13. Eight days later, he returned to Ohio to marry his fiancée Karen Manns. They spent seven days together before his leaving on May 28, 1966, to go to Fort Sam Houston in Texas. It was there that James would attend and complete medic training. His military occupation or specialty was medical corpsman: 91A20, and his rank was private first class.
On August 8, 1966, he started his tour in Vietnam. Pfc. Smith was assigned to Recon Platoon, HHC, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, U.S. Army Republic of Vietnam (USARV) as an ambulance driver. The 16th Infantry was headquartered in the Phuoc Vinh, South Vietnam.
Dorothy Bonafield Snyder, posting in the "Remembrances" section of the Wall of Faces on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund notes: "Writing to his brother on August 30, 1966, he told him, 'I've been talking to all the "combat medics" I can in order to find out as much as I can. By the time you get this letter I will probably be baptized... The medics all told me I should get my combat medics' badge within a month.' That did not happen. Jim was in his unit area sitting on a barrel while a buddy was cleaning his weapon on the floor. It accidentally discharged killing PFC Jim Smith on September 22, 1966." ("Not To Be Forgotten," posted 7 November 2001, accessed 31 March 2023, https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/48307/JAMES-D-SMITH-2/.)
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Pfc. James Smith's remains were returned to the U.S., where he was laid to rest at Ridge Hill Memorial Park Cemetery in Amherst, Lorain County, Ohio. Ironically, when he and Karen were dating and driving around, they stopped at the cemetery. There was a wishing well near a small creek, and Jim told Karen that if ever died, that was where he wanted to be buried. |
| While in the service of his country, Jim Smith earned, among others, the following medals and commendations: the Combat Medical Badge, the National Defense Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. Ironically, although he was killed in Vietnam, he did not receive the Purple Heart because his death was DNB (non-battle). Pfc. James Smith will always be remembered as he is memorialized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., on Panel 10E, Line 133. His name is also inscribed on the West Virginia Veterans Memorial located in Charleston, West Virginia. As he can be claimed by both Ohio and West Virginia, Jim is also listed on the Lorain County Vietnam Veterans Memorial. |  |
Article prepared by Makenzie Morris, Amelia Launi, and MAJ (Ret) T. Brad McGee, George Washington High School JROTC
March 2023
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.