Sergeant First Class Elmelindo Rodrigues Smith (July 27, 1935 – February 16, 1967) was a United States Army soldier, of Hispanic-Asian descent,[1] who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Vietnam War.
Smith, an American of Hispanic/Asian descent,[1] was born in Wahiawa, a town located in the center of Oahu Island in the County of Honolulu, Hawaii.
In October 1968, his family received the medal from the hands of Secretary of the Army Stanley R. Resor, because President Lyndon B. Johnson was ill at the time.
However, after the ceremony, which was held at the White House, the family which included his widow Jane and two daughters, Kathleen 10 and Pamela 6, were taken to President Johnson's bedroom.
[4][5] Sergeant First Class Elmelindo Rodrigues Smith's remains were buried with full military honors in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific located in Honolulu, Hawaii.