Smith, David Cazzie
Male
Verified Staff Sgt. David Cazzie Smith, 26, of Eight Mile, Alabama, served with the U.S. Air Force's 66th Rescue Squadron based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. He died in Afghanistan on June 9, 2010.
Their Story
Staff Sgt. David Cazzie Smith was a pararescueman assigned to the 66th Rescue Squadron, a unit specializing in combat search and rescue. The squadron, part of the 563rd Rescue Group, is based at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. Pararescuemen, known as PJs, are trained to recover and medically treat personnel in hostile or isolated environments.
Smith, a native of Eight Mile, Alabama, was 26 years old at the time of his death. He had deployed multiple times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, with service documented in Afghanistan, the Philippines, and the Horn of Africa.
On June 9, 2010, Smith died near Forward Operating Base Jackson in Afghanistan's Uruzgan Province. The Department of Defense stated his death was the result of hostile action. No further operational details of the incident were released in initial announcements.
His death was recorded in the Defense Casualty Analysis System on the day it occurred. Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan, began in October 2001 and concluded in December 2014.
Explore Further
Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led conflict in Afghanistan, concluded in December 2014. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.
Among those documented in the same conflict: Andrews, Evander Earl, Edmunds, Jonn Joseph, Stonesifer, Kristofor Tif, Davis, Bryant Leroy.
