George Edward Smith
American writer
George Edward "Smitty" Smith (born 1938) is a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War, former prisoner of war, and author.
Captured with other members of his sA- Team, November 24, 1963, he was released two years later in Cambodia.
He later wrote about his experiences in a book titled P.O.W.:Two Years with the Vietcong, published by Ramparts Press in 1971. It is a first person account of United States Army Special Forces Sergeant George Smith's two years as a prisoner of war. He traveled and lived with the Vietcong as their prisoner in a series of jungle camps, and developed a detailed understanding of life in the National Liberation Front's safe areas and the people he called VC.
Smith was a part of the Indochina Peace Campaign, with Tom Hayden, Jane Fonda, and hundreds of thousands of others.
The public source identifies “George Edward Smith” as american writer. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around George, Edward and Smith.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “George Edward Smith”, the useful work is to connect “american writer” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5538892. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1938, 1963 and 1971.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “George Edward Smith”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow George Edward Smith primary sources, George Edward Smith archive and George research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “George Edward Smith”?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “George Edward Smith” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.