Roll of Honor
Weldon Smith
Incident
Pilot Weldon Smith was killed in a plane crash while tracking illegal aliens near Hebbronville. Pilot Smith was working with ground agents from the Rio Grande City Border Patrol Station. They were trailing aliens on the Gallagor Ranch, about 10 miles north of Guerra, Jim Hogg County, Texas. Pilot Smith returned to his station in McAllen to refuel. As he was returning to the initial search area, he started relaying the location of the aliens to the agents when he quit transmitting mid-sentence. The agents saw the smoke and ran toward it. The plane was engulfed in flames, destroyed by the impact and fire. Pilot Smith died on initial impact. A Justice of the Peace from Hebbronville, Texas, held an inquest upon arrival at the scene of the accident and pronounced Pilot Smith dead. Subsequent investigation determined that the aircraft had stalled, and the pilot was unable to recover from the stall. Pilot Smith was a United States Army veteran who had served with the United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol for almost nine years assigned to the McAllen Sector and previously served with the Texas Department of Public Safety for 9 1/2 years. He is survived by his wife, two sons, four daughters, parents, three brothers, and two sisters. One son became a pilot and the other retired as a Federal Agent. Pilot Smith was buried in Valley Memorial Gardens in McAllen, Hidalgo County, Texas.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, two sons, four daughters, parents, three brothers, and two sisters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-33AB1BE7- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Pilot Smith gave the United States Department of Justice 18 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Weldon Smith served in the Army before joining law enforcement.
Pilot Weldon Smith is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In DC, 454 of 1,419 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol, 46 of 68 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 67.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Weldon Smith's cause is highlighted.
How Weldon Smith Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Weldon Smith is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
67 officers from United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
