Smith, Billy Morrison, SP 5

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 2, 2001 - The names of six American service members will be added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Thursday, May, 3, 2001 at 10 a.m., increasing the number of names on the black granite Wall to 58,226, announced Jan C. Scruggs, president and founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Texan Michael Smith will be present to witness the adding of his brother's name, the late Army Specialist Fifth Class Billy M. Smith, to the Memorial. SP5 Smith, of Commerce, Texas, was seriously wounded in the head on November 8, 1963, alongside Army Specialist First Class William J. Everhart, who died instantly. Smith was presumed dead, but he was later evacuated and lived for more than 30 years. He ultimately died in October 1995, after which time, the Department of Defense determined that his death was directly attributable to the wounds received in Vietnam. His name will be added to Panel 1East, Line 44 -10 rows below that of his comrade SFC Everhart.