LT STANLEY K. SMILEY, USN

Class 1963

Born January 31, 1939

Died July 20, 1969

Age 30

Hometown Fayetteville, North Carolina

Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1963 Lucky Bag:

STANLEY KUTZ SMILEY

Stan upset the homeland when he packed his bags and left Colorado Springs. A natural partygoer, he finally managed to adapt himself to life within Mother Bancroft with only an occasional party every weekend. Participating in many intramural sports, Stan was never satisfied as he spent all plebe year looking for a place to ski. Since nothing was satisfactory, he resigned himself to a new life on the radiator squad. You could always count on Stan’s casual comments or scintillating remarks at any session unless the new issue of Playboy was out. Weekends would find him out in the yard looking over the latest styles and adding a few names to his list. Even though he left his home at USAFA, Stan is still out to get those wings, and with his casualness and quick thinking he ought to revolutionize Navy Air and make it even greater.

Loss

Stanley was killed in action on July 20, 1969 when his A-4 Skyhawk was shot down over Saravane Province, Laos. He was a member of Attack Squadron (VA) 23, flying from USS Oriskany (CVA 34).

Other Information

From the November 1969 issue of Shipmate:

Born in Fayetteville, N. C, Lt. Smiley attended Valley Forge Military Academy of Wayne, Pa., before he was graduated from the Naval Academy in June 1963. He had flight training at Jacksonville, Pensacola, Meridian, and at Corpus Christi, and served in the Yorktown and Ticonderoga. A member of Attack Squadron 23 operating from the USS Oriskany, Lt. Smiley was on his third Vietnam tour. Among other awards, he held the Air Medal with Numeral 8, Commendation with combat “V” and the Navy Unit Commendation.

Survivors include his parents Col. Stanley Smiley, USA (Ret.) and Mrs. Smiley of P. O. Box 767, Valentine, Ne. 69201, and a brother.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Stanley spent his youth traveling in the United States and Europe as an “army brat.” He spoke German well and had enough knowledge of French and Italian to get by. He attended high schools in Frankfurt and Stuttgart, Germany, and in Fairfax, Virginia.

He graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania, in 1956. He attended Sullivan’s Prep School in Washington, D. C., in 1957. He then attended the U. S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

In March 1959, he was working in the research and development lab at the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois where his father was executive officer. He received a presidential appointment from Dwight D. Eisenhower to the Naval Academy.

His 1960 summer cruise was on the USS Macon.

On July 4, 1963, he participated in “Salute to the Union” by U. S. Air Force, Army, and Navy personnel at the Sioux Ordnance Depot in Sidney, Nebraska. His father was appointed commander there in 1961.

After flight training in Pensacola, Stanley made his first solo hop on April 16, 1964, at the Meridian Naval Auxiliary Air Station in Columbus, Mississippi. After radioing the control tower that he would need to bail out, Stanley parachuted out of his T2A Buckeye jet trainer at 5,000 feet. The plane crashed about 24 miles south of Columbus. Stanley was picked up by helicopter and a routine physical showed no injuries. He was attached to Squadron VT-9 at the base.

In November 1964, he completed Basic Jet Training with Training Squadron Four at Forrest Sherman Field Naval Air Station in Pensacola.

On March, 8, 1969, Navy families were given a day on the aircraft carrier Oriskany moored at Lemoore. When the Oriskany carrier reached its point of operations far out at sea, a special air show was staged for all aboard. Two VA-23 officers, Stanley and Lt (j. g.) Michael J. Sullivan did landings and take-offs, flares were dropped, simulated bombs released, aerial target practice demonstration and formation flying were presented.

From USNA Class of 1963:

LT Smiley was born in 1939 into a military family. Following in his father’s military footsteps, LT Smiley entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1959 and graduated with the class of 1963. LT Smiley entered naval flight training after graduation, was designated a Naval Aviator on 4 February 1965, and received orders to VS-25 where he flew S-2E ASW aircraft. From September to November 1967 he completed jet transition training and subsequently joined VA-23 on 4 December 1967, flying the A-4F Skyhawk.

VA-23 was assigned to CVW-19 and in April 1969 began a deployment to the western Pacific on board USS Oriskany (CVA 34). On the afternoon of 20 July 1969, LT Smiley launched as the lead of a two-aircraft flight on a road reconnaissance mission over Laos. While returning from the initial mission, LT Smiley sighted a truck and told his wingman that he was going to confirm whether it was rolling stock or a hulk. As the wingman prepared to follow his flight leader in an attack, he saw LT Smiley’s aircraft enter into a shallow dive about 60 degrees off the planned attack heading. The aircraft crashed. Subsequent airborne search and rescue operations were unsuccessful; there was no sign that LT Smiley ejected from his aircraft. A ground search was not feasible due to enemy forces in the area. LT Smiley was declared Killed in Action/Body Not Recovered.

LT Smiley was posthumously awarded the Air Medal with Numeral “8,” the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze stars, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. LT Smiley was survived by his parents and a brother.

He has a memorial in Honolulu.