DECLARED MISSING IN ACTION JAN 8, 1968
SHOT DOWN OVER VIETNAM
Major Bud Smith remains listed as Missing In Action, to this day. As of this writing (2016) Bud Smith’s remains have yet to be recovered. However, his navigator’s remains were recovered and identified using DNA matches, in 2006.
Date of birth: 16 October 1941
Date of casualty: 8 January 1968
Home of record: Portland, Oregon
Branch and Rank: Air Force, Major, Pilot
Unit: 7th Air Force, 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
Awards: National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal
Location of name on the Vietnam Wall: 33E, 94
Location of service: South Vietnam, Pleiku province
Died while missing in action .. air crash on land .. body not recovered.
Major Smith was a member of the 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam. On January 8, 1968, he was the pilot of a McDonnell Phantom II Reconnaissance Fighter (RF-4C) on a reconnaissance mission when radio contact was lost in Kontum Province, South Vietnam. His remains were not recovered.
Schools attended: Milwaukie High School, Lewis & Clark College
Memorials: Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Washington, DC), Gold Star War Memorial – Milwaukie High School, Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial, Willamette National Cemetery, MIA Wall at Oregon Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Portland)
The Oregonian, Thursday, December 25, 1968
Fliers Thought Prisoners of VC
These are dark days for Mrs. Robert W. Stanley of West Linn and Mrs. Hallie (Bud) Smith of Portland, whose husbands are believed to be prisoners of the Viet Cong in South Vietnam.
Capt. Stanley was shot down April 1, 1967; Capt. Smith on Jan. 8, 1968.
Capt. Smith was born and reared in the Portland area, graduated from Milwaukie High School, then from Lewis and Clark College in 1963, got his commission at Officers Training School Feb. 4, 1964, was married Feb. 8, then went on to pilot training.
“Our marriage was inevitable,” Mrs. Smith said, with her first real show of laughter. “My maiden name was Smith when we went to Lewis & Clark together and they called our names together whenever they took roll.
“Bud got his wings in October, 1964. Then we had two wonderful years together in England,” Mrs. Smith recalled.
They have no children.
…Capt. Smith was flying an unarmed plane on a low-level reconnaissance mission in the highlands east of Da Nang Jan. 8, 1968, just before the Tet offensive.
As he dropped down for his photography run his plane disappeared from the radar and radio contact was lost. Three days later a party of Marines found the wreckage of his plane, but no sign of Capt. Smith or his navigator, no parachutes and no sign that they went down with the plane.
“Bud has a will to live that will keep him going,” his wife said. “I’ve never known Bud to give up on anything. He has a lot to live for.”
Every month the waiting wives send a typed single-page letter to their husbands, addressed to Madame Binh, the Viet Cong representative at the Paris peace talks, with a note asking her to see that the letter is forwarded to their husbands.
The following remembrances were originally posted here: http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/48261/HALLIE-W-SMITH
In Our Hearts
You are not forgotten Bud
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Hallie (Bud) Smith
Bud and Judy Smith came to RAF Alconbury as young newlyweds, just as we did. The guys were both in the 30th Squadron, plus Judy and Caroline both taught in the DOD schools. We had wonderful weekends together in London and a memorable Christmas trip to western England. There are great memories of us huddled together in the wind and cold behind the big stones of Stonehenge, reading the guidebook. Bud will forever be part of those wonderful years.
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Wife's tribute
He was a wonderful person and I am still proud to have been his wife for four short years.
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A friend that will never be forgotten
i will never forget the last time I saw Buddy and Judy. i was on a family trip with my parents on the Oregon Coast. We were looking out our window and we thought we saw Buddy and Judy walking hand in hand near the beach. The reason we figured out it was definitely Buddy was because he had his Lewis and Clark jacket on. We debated whether to bother them as we knew that Buddy was on leave and their time was short. It was a good thing my dad and I ran to catch up with them. Who whould have known how short his time really was. They were really glad to see us as we wished him good luck and hugged and kissed him good-bye. Thank goodness that memory will always be in my mind. I was nine years old and that was the last time we saw Buddy.We miss you a lot!
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You will NOT be forgotten
Thoughts of you always bring a smile to my heart. How fortunate I was to have met you in college, married you after we graduated and had four wonderful years together before you were sent to Vietnam in 1967. There is rarely a day that goes by without a happy memory of our short life together. The last time I saw you, you were 25 years old and I am now 70. Will love you forever.
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Not Forgotten
For more than 40 years my mother has kept her POW/MIA bracelet with Capt. Bud Smith's name on it. Growing up I always saw it as she explained to me what it meant. I even showed it once in a high school history project on Vietnam in the 1990s. I then had him in mind, when, as a young Airman, I wrote an essay for the Air Force Times called, "Sometimes, I Forget." Because she never could find his name on the Vietnam Wall (the bracelet only had "Bud" as his first name), she/we held out hope he had returned home safely. Today we searched for him online and found out his full name, his story, and that he is still missing. Putting a face to his name and reading the tributes from his wife and friends humanizes this worn metal bracelet that my mother has kept close. Our prayers are that he did not suffer when he paid the ultimate sacrifice for his country. We will certainly remember him forever. He is not forgotten.
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Still remembering your sacrifice
I never met Captain Smith. As a junior high student in 1973, I purchased an MIA/POW bracelet. Seems like I read a newspaper article and thought it would be a good way to support the troops. I took my obligation to wear the bracelet until he returned home very seriously. I wore it for 10 years. When the troops began returning home, I would search the newspapers for his name. I am so thankful for the internet because I have become able to learn a little about Captain Smith. I cried at the Vietnam War Memorial and felt honored to make a rubbing of his name. To any of his remaining family, I hope you will find comfort that Captain Smith is still thought about and respected today. I am now 53 years old and I will always remember him.
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You will never be forgotten
Hi sweetheart,
There isn't a day I don't think of you and miss you. I will always love you and feel blessed to have been your wife for 3 years and 11 months to the day. The American government has approved an excavation of your 1967 crash site in South Vietnam. They will be searching for any remains with a team of professionals during the dry season of 2015. I still attend MIA meetings in Washington D.C. every year and I will honor you as long as I live.
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Bud Smith
Although I never met him I did know his wife Judy and every year I hope she finds closure to his disappearance over Vietnam. I visit the Vietnam Memorial in Portland every year and always hope his name will be removed from the MIA wall, but it is still there.
I just want both Judy and Bud to know I think about them often.
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Thank you
Major Smith was married to my cousin Judy. He and I were both in Southeast Asia at the same time. Major Smith in the air and me on the ground. I respect and honor his service.
The Milwaukie Review, Wednesday, January 2, 1974
MIA’s wife reminds Legion many still missing in Vietnam
Mrs. Judy Smith, wife of Capt. Bud Smith, Milwaukie, who is missing in action in Vietnam, spoke to members of the Milwaukie American Legion Post and Unit.
Mrs. Smith, who was accompanied by another MIA wife, Darlene Schorn, in February of 1970 visited with North Viet Nam officials.
Mrs. Smith told the Legion that wile 590 Prisoners of War had been returned, more than twice that number are still unaccounted for in Vietnam. Twenty-nine of these men are from Oregon, including Capt. Smith, said Mrs. Smith.
According to Mrs. Smith, her husband’s airplane wreckage, like many others, was found with no trace of bodies or survival equipment. Mrs. Smith indicated that the Defense Department concludes these men were captured, yet there is no word from Hanoi concerning them.
The MIA captain’s wife urged that members write to their congressmen and the President, asking them to continue investigating the fates of these men. Phyllis Corley, national security chairman for the Milwaukie unit, said the wearing of MIA bracelets serves as a constant reminder that there are more than 1,200 missing in action, whose names appear on no list from Hanoi either dead or alive.
Mrs. Smith was presented with an honorary membership in the Milwaukie Unit No. 180.