| Date: 20 May 1967 |
| Aircraft type: A-4E Skyhawk |
| Serial Number: 149652 |
| Military Unit: VA-212 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Bon Homme Richard |
| Name(s): |
| Cdr Homer Leroy Smith (POW (died)) |
| Despite the heavy losses of the previous day, the Navy was out in force again on the 20th. An Alpha strike on the Bac Giang thermal power plant resulted in only one aircraft lost, it was however, the A-4 of the CO of VA-212. This important power plant was situated near Phu Lang Thuong, about 25 miles northeast of Hanoi. Cdr Smith was leading 17 aircraft from the Bon Homme Richard against the target and had just pulled up having launched his Walleye bomb when his Skyhawk (call sign Flying Eagle) was hit by AAA and burst into flames. Accompanied by his wingman, he headed for the coast but was forced to eject about 20 miles north of Haiphong. Like Griffin and Walters, Cdr Smith was apparently taken to the Hanoi Hilton but survived only a few days and was reported to have been tortured to death. Cdr Smith had been awarded the Silver Star for leading an attack on the Bac Giang POL depot on 30 June 1966 and had dropped the Navy’s first Walleye bomb during an attack on the Sam Son Army barracks on 11 March 1967. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his part in the attack on the Bac Giang thermal power plant. Homer Smith’s remains were handed over by the Vietnamese on 16 March 1974. |
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