14 Jan 2006 PFC Frederick E. Smith was a Fire Direction Center draftee who was an original member of A Battery 2/13 Arty. His tour of duty started on January 1, 1966, which places him as a unit member shipped directly from Fort Sill to duty in the Republic of Vietnam. PFC Smith died six weeks later from wounds suffered in a mortar attack. Details are not known. Unit research shows casualty records prior to June 1968 were removed from Vietnam. PFC Smith has been overlooked, as our battalion source noted 25 casualties were endured between 1966-1970. Corrections to the record accurately show PFC Smith as the first of twenty-eight fatalities from our battalion during the Vietnam War. As a fire direction officer from A Battery in 1969, I can empathize with the situation PFC Smith found himself in when A Battery was under fire on February 26, 1966. I was born the same month and year as PFC Smith. I took an extra semester in college to complete my student teaching courses. I never knew PFC Smith, but could easily have been there in 1966 if I graduated with my original class. It is up to another veteran to post details of the event. But having served with FDC guys, I am certain PFC Smith was a professional artilleryman grounded in answering the Call to Fire. Fort Sill instills this in every cannoneer and FDC guy. Everything is dropped at the words "Fire Mission." Personal safety is a secondary consideration to timely deliverance of rounds on target. 2/13 Arty was one of the Army's most dependable artillery units in Vietnam, from the early days when PFC Smith started in January 1966 to the millionth round C Battery fired in February 1970. The unit deserved the reputation of general excellence. Recently LTC William Miracle, who today commands 3/13 Artillery on active duty in Iraq, wrote that his Red Dragon Clan members still honor the sacrifices the 2/13 and 3/13 Artillery Battalions made in Vietnam. LTC Miracle's men, too, have endured injury and death in Iraq. They proudly soldier on, remembering the efforts of the Red Dragon Clan in Vietnam, Korea, World Wars I and II. It is with this in mind that I am posting a belated, but sincere, commemoration to PFC Frederick E. Smith. I encourage anyone who knew PFC Smith to add some memory that will show what a friend he truly was during the early days in Vietnam. Rest in Peace, PFC Smith. You are remembered by the Red Dragon Clan. From a unit veteran, William E. Novakovic 513 Woodland Avenue, Oakmont, Pa. 15139 Email unavailable

 

PFC Frederick E. Smith was killed from an incoming mortar round during an attack of the Phu Loi Base Camp. Killed on the same day but unconfirmed whether it was during the basecamp attack or while in the field with his unit, was PFC Dougals Dwight Alley. He too was from Delaware as evidenced by the newspaper article below. PFC Frederick E Smith was survived by his mother Dorothy Frances (Seningen) Smith (1918-1992) and his father George Andrew Smith of 1341 Cypress Avenue, Wilmington, Delaware. He was also survived by two sisters (Sandra and Frances), one brother (George A Jr), and his maternal grandmother, Frances H. Seningen, Richardson Park DE. He was buried in Graceland Memorial Park, New Castle, Delaware. - - The Virtual Wall, July 2, 2018

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