SMITH, WAYNE OGDEN

Name:Wayne Ogden Smith
Rank/Branch: United States Air Force/O2
Unit:
Date of Birth: 10 August 1943
Home City of Record: Largo FL
Date of Loss: 18 January 1968
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 211800 North 1061200 East
Status (in 1973): Returnee
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4D
Missions:
Other Personnel in Incident:
Refno:

Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw
data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews.

REMARKS: 730314 RELEASED BY DRV

SOURCE: WE CAME HOME copyright 1977
Captain and Mrs. Frederic A Wyatt (USNR Ret), Barbara Powers Wyatt, Editor
P.O.W. Publications, 10250 Moorpark St., Toluca Lake, CA 91602
Text is reproduced as found in the original publication (including date and
spelling errors).

WAYNE OGDEN SMITH
Captain - United States Air Force
Shot Down: January 18, 1968
Released: March 14, 1973

BIOGRAPHY: Captain Wayne O. Smith was born on 10 August 1943 and attended
high school in Louisville, Kentucky, then entered the US Air Force Academy
in the summer of 1961 and graduated in June 1965. He attended pilot training
at Moody AFB, Valdosta, Georgia and was awarded his wings in September 1966
with class 67-B. He spent his first operational assignment with the 33rd
Tactical Fighter Wing at Eglin AFB, Florida. While there he married his
pretty brunette wife, Margaret Jean Frazier of Dunedin, Florida. He deployed
with his squadron of F-4Ds to Ubon, Thailand in July 1967 and after 69
combat missions over North Vietnam, he was shot down on 18 January 1968.

Captain Smith is now residing with his wife, Jean, in Clearwater, Florida.
They have no children (a temporary situation, assures Captain Smith). For
the moment they are accompanied by their two happy toy poodles, "Jolie" and
"Snooper." Captain Smith has not made any firm decisions concerning his
future career. "About my future," he said, "I made one decision while I was
in North Vietnam, and that was not to make any firm decisions until I could
investigate every opportunity and then, with the help of my wife, decide. My
goal is happiness and satisfaction that comes with accomplishment."

MESSAGE: As many other returned POWs may tell you, I do not believe my long
detention in North Vietnam was a complete loss. My greatest gain was a new
appreciation for the things in life we usually take for granted. Freedom,
first of all, is really a very precious thing. I feel I learned a great deal
about human nature and myself especially, under trying circumstances. I also
became aware of my spiritual needs as a prisoner. Without references to
knowledge or facts, I was forced to assess my total accumulation of
knowledge and I became aware of how small this sum was. We picked each
other's brains to quench our thirst for knowledge but could never really be
confident of our facts. Now, in my second shot at life, I will attempt,
through books and/or educational institutions, to fill the many holes and
answer the many questions I could not answer as a prisoner of war.

Now that I have returned I am continuing to learn a great deal as a result
of our tragic circumstances. I can now better appreciate what the wives of
the POWs and MlAs have gone through. Words cannot express my gratitude and
respect for their support and efforts while we were being detained, as well
as my gratitude and respect for all the fine Americans who were so genuinely
concerned. I have received letters from people I do not know and from
children who probably can't really comprehend what a POW is. Some letters I
can't finish reading without tears welling in my eyes. There are so many
wonderful Americans in this country and now I am learning from them.


1999
Wayne and his family currently reside in IA.

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