SMITH, VICTOR ARLON
Name: Victor Arlon Smith
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit:
Date of Birth: 28 February 1943
Home City of Record: Silver Spring MD
Date of Loss: 17 January 1969
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 164600N 1062100E (XD315435)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4D
Refno: 1361
Other Personnel in Incident: (pilot - rescued?)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 September 1990 from one or more
of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources,
correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.
Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK 1998.
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: The Phantom, used by Air Force, Marine and Navy air wings, served
a multitude of functions including fighter-bomber and interceptor, photo and
electronic surveillance. The two man aircraft was extremely fast (Mach 2),
and had a long range (900 - 2300 miles, depending on stores and mission
type). The F4 was also extremely maneuverable and handled well at low and
high altitudes. The F4 was selected for a number of state-of-the-art
electronics conversions, which improved radar intercept and computer bombing
capabilities enormously. Most pilots considered it one of the "hottest"
planes around.
Capt. Victor A. Smith was trained to serve as systems operator in the
Phantom. Smith, who graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1965, had served
a tour in the U.S. Marine Corps before attending the Academy and joining the
Air Force.
On January 17, 1969, Smith was sent on a mission over Laos. When his
aircraft was about 10 miles northeast of the city of Sepone in Savannakhet
Province, it was shot down. Smith, the rear-seater, would, according to
procedure, have ejected from the aircraft first. Thus it would not be
unusual for him to be separated from his pilot by some distance.
The fate of the pilot is unknown. As he is not missing, it is presumed that
he was safely rescued. Smith was listed Missing in Action, and it was hoped
that he was captured and would be released at the end of the war.
When the war ended, however, the families of those men lost in Laos were
horrified to learn that the U.S. had not negotiated the freedom of those
Americans held by the Pathet Lao. Since that time, no American held in Laos
has been released -- or negotiated for.
Nearly 600 Americans were shot down in Laos by the same missiles and
anti-aircraft fire used in Vietnam. The percentage of survival should have
been roughly the same. Yet, because of our unwillingness to negotiate with a
government faction we did not recognize, these men were abandoned.
Since the war ended, over 10,000 reports relating to Americans missing in
Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S. While many authorities, having
examined this largely-classified information have concluded that hundreds of
them are still alive, the U.S. Government cannot seem to make up its mind.
Meanwhile, men like Victor Smith may be alive wondering why the country they
proudly served has not come for them.
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