Hinesville, Georgia · Killed in Action, Vietnam 1968
Four sons of Liberty County, Georgia, who never came home from Vietnam. In 2024, Congress named their community's VA clinic in their honor. This site keeps their memory — and that promise — alive.
“All gave some. These four gave all.”
In Memoriam
Each gave his life in the Republic of Vietnam in 1968. Their service records and decorations are drawn from the National Archives, the U.S. Marine Corps and Army, and the Liberty County Probate Court.
A Riceboro Marine, John Gibson died of wounds received in action against the enemy on February 7, 1968. He was 21 years old.
The youngest of the four, Dan James was an infantryman who entered service at Jacksonville and gave his life in Vietnam two days after Christmas, 1968. He was 20. For his valor he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal three times and was promoted to Specialist Four posthumously.
A Hinesville son, Specialist Sapp volunteered for the point position on a search operation west of Kontum. Mortally wounded in the opening burst of fire, he kept fighting from his litter and urged his comrades on — his courage helped his unit defeat the enemy. He was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor.
A combat engineer with the 1st Marine Division, Lance Corporal Smiley fell in Vietnam in August 1968. He rests at Cay Cemetery in Midway, in the Liberty County soil he came from.
A Promise Kept by Congress
They came from Riceboro, Hinesville, and the small communities of Liberty County, Georgia. They answered their nation's call, and in a single year — 1968 — all four were killed in action in Vietnam. For decades, their sacrifice was carried quietly by their families and their county.
Beginning in 2022, veterans and Gold Star families led an effort to honor them where it would be seen every day: on the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic that serves Liberty County's veterans. Their congressman carried the bill, the House and Senate passed it, and on May 13, 2024, it became federal law.
Public Law 118-61 directs that the Hinesville VA clinic “shall…be known and designated” in their names — a permanent, congressionally ordered tribute to four men who gave everything.
How We Got Here
PFC John Gibson, PFC Dan James, SP4 William Sapp, and LCpl Frankie Smiley are each killed in action in Vietnam.
Veterans and Gold Star families begin the effort to rename the Hinesville VA clinic in the four heroes' honor.
H.R. 593 is introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Before the bill even passes the House, VA's Charleston leadership installs large “Ralph H. Johnson Healthcare System” signage at the clinic ($87,399.55).
The House passes H.R. 593.
The Senate passes H.R. 593.
The bill is signed into law as Public Law 118-61, officially naming the clinic for the four heroes.
The four heroes' names are added only to a secondary monument sign; the dominant building signage continues to read “Ralph H. Johnson Healthcare System.”
A renaming ceremony is held; Gold Star families attend.
Administrative complaints and FOIA requests follow. VA's regional network issues a “final response” finding no wrongdoing.
A federal lawsuit seeks to compel full compliance with Public Law 118-61.
The Issue, In Brief
Congress was clear. The clinic shall bear the four heroes' names. Yet the building's primary signage still displays a name Congress never authorized for this facility.
In short: federal law renamed the Hinesville clinic for John Gibson, Dan James, William Sapp, and Frankie Smiley. VA's Charleston leadership instead kept the unauthorized “Ralph H. Johnson Healthcare System” name as the clinic's primary identification, and — by VA's own records — no signage variance was ever submitted as the agency's design manual required. This site presents the heroes and the law; the underlying records, FOIA responses, and the federal complaint are available to press and supporters on request.
This is an independent informational and memorial website. Figures and dates above are drawn from public laws, VA FOIA responses, and the federal court complaint.
Help Keep the Promise
It costs nothing to ask that a law passed in these heroes' names be honored.
Ask Congress to see that Public Law 118-61 is fully enforced at the Hinesville clinic.
The more people who know these four names, the harder they are to set aside.
A one-page summary of the heroes, the law, and the issue — ready to print or save as PDF.
On the fact sheet, choose Print → Save as PDF.