27 May 2005 My Big Brother ... Ronald E. Smith One of the greatest men who ever walked this earth. He was the backbone of our family, the glue holding it together. He had no childhood, thanks to a uncaring father. He had to grow up way too early. But with no complaints he took on the responsibilities of his father and at such an early age started helping our Mom take care of my younger brother and myself. So loved by every one in our family, he is missed so much. My earliest memory of life, as far back as I can pull up, is of my brother.... "waiting" for him to come from the field, helping our grandfather. I spent my life waiting for him. Waiting for him to come home from school, from dates, from ball games. Then after high school, he joined the Navy, I waited for him to come home from the Navy. He spent two years on the police force in our small home town, then joined the Army, so that he could become a Green Beret. I spent the next five years waiting for him to come home from the Army. Now the government has left him in Cambodia, or Laos, somewhere, they do not know or care. I... am ... "Still Waiting" Big brother, you took the place of my father, you were my protector, my friend, my hero, long before you became a Green Beret. I miss you... I love you... I salute you.... Love Sis (Linda Smith-Winters-Cope) 17179 Lakeview Dr, Holland Mi. 49424 rlcope@chartermi.net

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall On 28 November 1970 Recon Team Kentucky was conducting a long-range reconnaissance mission in Attopeu Province, Laos, near the tri-border area of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. In mid-afternoon, the team, which consisted of two US Special Forces soldiers and a number of ARVN Special Forces personnel, was attacked by a company-sized enemy force. The initial attack split the recon team and wounded SFC Smith. The team leader made his way to SFC Smith and found that Smith had been hit in the head and torso by automatic weapons fire. As he and an ARVN team member attempted to recover Smith's body, a rocket-propelled grenade exploded nearby, killing the ARVN soldier and knocking the team leader unconscious. The remaining team members broke contact, carrying the wounded team leader with them but leaving their two dead behind. After extraction, the team leader reported his belief that SFC Smith was dead. The enemy presence precluded insertion of a ground team to search for and recover the two bodies. While available information indicates that SFC Smith was carried as Missing in Action for a time, it also indicates that an annual review board eventually recommended, and the Secretary of the Army accepted, a finding that SFC Smith had been killed in the 28 Nov 1970 action. His present status is Killed in Action, Body not Recovered.

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