Smoot, Curtis R.

Submitted by Jo Branch

Army - Sgt.
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 #67-17412) 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 among nearly 2500 Americans still missing, prisoner or otherwise unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.