Name: Curtis Richard Smoot
Rank/Branch: E5/US Army
Unit: Troop A, 1rst Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 1rst Cavalry Division
Date of Birth: 09 December 1949 (Bogaloosa, LA)
Home City of Record: Varnado, LA
Date of Loss: 10 March 1971
Country of Loss: Cambodia
Loss Coordinates: 12144N 1062255E (XU503540)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Catagory: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: OH6A
Refno: 1722
Source: Compiled 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 in 1998.
Other Personel in Incident: WO1 Craig Houser(Escaped); SP4 Robert Kiser (remains recovered).
REMARKS
SYNOPSIS: On March 10, 1971, WO Craig Houser, pilot, SP4 Robert Kiser, crew chief, and Sgt. Curtis R. Smoot, door gunner, were flying in an OH6A (serial#67-17-17412) on a visual reconnaissance mission over Kracheh Province, Cambodia just southwest of the city of Phumi Sre Roneam.At about 1400 hours, while making a low pass over a suspected enemy position, the helicopter was hit by an enemy rocket and crashed. The helicopter landed on the bank of a river, burst into flames, and fell into the river. The crash occurred in the vicinity of the recon. A team of ARVN and two U.S. Army enlisted men were inserted into the area to search for survivors and recover aircraft parts. At that time, the body of SP4 Kiser was recovered. Due to darkness, the search team was extracted.
On March 13, WO1 Houser returned to military control, having evaded capture and walked to a friendly position. He reported that he had not seen Sgt. Smoot after the aircraft had hit. No sign was ever found of Sgt. Curtis Smoot, alive or dead. He is listed amoung nearly 2500 Americans still missing, prisoner or otherwise unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.
When the war ended, 591 Americans were released from communist prisons in Vietnam, but Smoot was not among them. Since that time, thousands of reports received have convinced many authorities that hundreds of Americans are still being held captive in Southeast Asia. Curtis Smoot could well be one of them. If so, what must he be thinking of us.
From his records found on No Quarter OJC Site Sgt Curtis R. Smoot was born on December 9, 1949 in Bogaloosa, Louisiana. He listed his home city as Varnado, Louisiana. According to his records He enlisted or was drafted into the U.S. Army in March of 1971. He served with Troop A, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 1rst Cavalry Div, in which he served as a door gunner. The Date of Loss is 10 March, 1971 and in 1973 his status is shown as Missing in Action. On his No Quarter Search request the report shows date of Casualty as Monday, October 30, 1978, either that is a misprint or We still had active duty operations 3 years after the troops pulled out of Vietnam. On the OJC Report (listed above) it shows Date of Causualty 10 March, 1971, which is Sgt Smoot's Start of Tour Date on the No Quarter Search Results. Either Way, Sgt Curtis Richard Smoot is listed Missing in Action. He was 28.
Last Name: SMOOT
First Name: CURTIS, RICHARD
Home of Record(official): Varnado, LA
Date of Birth: Friday, December 9, 1949
Sex: M
Race: Negro
Marital Status: Single
Military
Branch: Army
Rank: SFC
Serial #: 587052512
Component: Regular
Posthumous promotion as indicated
Pay grade: E6
MOS(Military Occupational Specialty code):Unknown/not reported
Major Organization: 1st Cavalry Div.
Action
Start of Tour: Wednesday, March 10, 1971
Date of Casualty: Monday, October 30, 1978
Age at time of Loss: 28
Casualty type: (A3)Hostile, died while missing
Reason: Airl Loss- Crashed on land (Crew member-Helicopter)
Country: Cambodia
Province: Unknown/Not Reported
The Wall: Panel 04W - Row 036
IF ANYONE HAS ANY INFORMATION ON SGT CURTIS RICHARD SMOOT, PLEASE CONTACT ME AT :bigjhaglund@sw.rr.com
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