Photo By Lori Stewart | Sp5c. Kenny Smith in Vietnam (Photo courtesy of Smith family)... read more read more
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by Lori S. Stewart, USAICoE Command Historian
IMAGERY ANALYST DIES ON AERIAL MISSION
On 15 May 1970, an imagery analyst with the 219th Military Intelligence Detachment, II Field Force, was killed in Cambodia while flying as an aerial observer. The types of voluntary visual reconnaissance missions Sp5c. Kenneth E. Smith was conducting often put air crews in range of enemy ground fire but significantly contributed to the rapid exploitation of enemy cache sites in cross-border Cambodian operations.
Kenneth Eugene Smith was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on 24 April 1948 but graduated high school in Wisconsin. He worked in a local gas station and grocery store while pursuing a degree in electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin. In 1968, he traded his studies for an enlistment in the U.S. Army, following in the footsteps of his father and several uncles who served during World War II. Kenny enlisted primarily to serve his country and gain valuable life skills, but also for the benefits that would allow him to continue his education.
Specialist Smith arrived at the 219th MI Detachment in South Vietnam in September 1969. Trained as an imagery analyst, he was assigned to the detachment’s Imagery Interpretation Section, which fielded teams to support the II Field Force’s divisions, armored cavalry regiment, and other tactical units throughout the III Corps Tactical Zone. Imagery analysts, like Smith, provided commanders with a better understanding of the terrain and located enemy base camps, supply lines, caches, and weapons emplacements. Many imagery analysts flew as aerial observers during fluid battle situations to provide immediate spot reports to the commander. The imagery analysts also used hand-held cameras to take photographs of key targets and areas of interest. Their keen observations made them indispensable on many missions, from convoy cover for advancing troops to directing or redirecting artillery fire to maintaining communications with long-range patrols operating behind enemy lines. The altitude at which these aerial observation missions were most effective, however, was also where the aircraft and its crew were most vulnerable to enemy ground fire.
The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC) had long been using Cambodia as a supply route and a sanctuary to launch attacks into South Vietnam. From 29 April–29 June 1970, as part of the TOAN THANG (Total Victory) series of operations, combined American and South Vietnamese forces attacked several enemy base areas along the Cambodia-South Vietnam border. Usually, they found most NVA/VC personnel had evacuated the region but, in their haste, left behind huge stockpiles of weapons, food, and other supplies. U.S. forces moved into several fire support bases (FSB) along the border to search for remaining enemy forces and supply caches.
On 15 May 1970, Specialist Smith volunteered to accompany 1st Lt. Peter Patrick Kellogg, an O-1 Bird Dog pilot with the 184th Aviation Company, on an aerial observation flight. Kellogg and Smith were tasked to shadow Alpha Company, 5th Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, which was under the operational control of the 1st Cavalry Division’s Second Brigade. Alpha Company was conducting a reconnaissance in force mission outside FSB Brown in the Fish Hook region of Cambodia to locate enemy storage depots and cache sites left behind by the NVA/VC. After Kellogg and Smith made several low passes over the American troops to look for suspicious activity, an NVA soldier targeted their Bird Dog with a heavy machine gun and literally cut the plane in half. The aircraft crashed in the dense bamboo forest. The next day, an American sniper team located the remains of the aircraft and recovered the bodies of Kellogg and Smith.
Specialist Smith was one of seven imagery analysts known to have been killed in action during the Vietnam War and the only one killed during the 1970 Cambodian incursion. For his willingness to undertake aerial observation missions in a dangerous and unpredictable environment and his dedication to providing real-time intelligence to ensure the security of the soldiers on the ground, he was posthumously awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross.
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| Date Taken: | 05.10.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.10.2024 15:50 |
| Story ID: | 470983 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 75 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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