Tech. Sergeant Charles Edward Smith
Born on September 10, 1923, in Lake City, Illinois, to parents, John Thomas "Jack" and Margaret Mary (Vollmer) Smith, Charles made connections with Defiance later in life.
After finishing three years of high school, Charles joined the work force in Defiance with a job at the Defiance Automatic Screw Company. He lived, possibly as a boarder or with a relative, at 720 Holgate Street in Defiance.
It was in Defiance that he registered for the draft.
On October 31, 1942, he traveled to Chicago, Illinois, to enlist in the Army Air Corps, and on November 13, he was inducted in as a private. He would serve in the 8th Air Force, 700th Army Air Force Bomb Squad and the 445th AAF Bomb Operations.
He graduated from the radio school of the Air Force Technical Training Operations at Scott Field in Belleville, IL, qualifying for duty in a fighting bomber crew as a radio man.
In June, 1943, he also trained as a gunner. (Lovington Reporter, June 25, 1943)
"SGT CHAS E SMITH GRADUATES AS GUNNER
Sgt. Charles E. Smith, son of Mr. and Mrs. John T. Smith of near Lake City and graduate from Lovington township high school, was graduated Monday from the Army Air Forces Flexible Gunnery School at Ft. Myers Fla.
Now qualified as an aerial gunner, he will become a member of one of the thousands of bomber crews which will be sent overseas in a few weeks to battle the Nazis or the enemy somewhere 'over there.' He will receive his crew training at an operational training field in the United States.
Hundreds of gunners are graduated each week from the school located near Fort Myers. The course lasts only six weeks and covers everything from BB and skeet shooting to firing from the power-operated turret of a large twin-engined bomber on special missions over the Gulf of Mexico.
Sgt. Smith has been in the Army seven months, having formerly been engaged in farming. He is a graduate of the radio specialist school at Scott Field, near Belleville, Ill."
His group went overseas first to the east coast of England to practice bombing procedures, radio procedures during missions, blind flying in case navigation systems went out and formation flying. On December 13, they began operations by attacking some boat installations, and from there moved on German airfields, ammunition plants, chemical works and other strategic targets.
On December 22, 1943, three bombing missions were sent out over Germany. In Mission One, the Snow Goose was sent to bomb the railway yards at Osnabruck, Germany. The Snow Goose came under heavy attack from German fighters, receiving a direct hit that set their aircraft on fire.
However, they still had their heavy bomb load and, rather than drop them on civilians, they chose to crash with their bombs. On their way down, they shot down the German plane that had attacked them. They crashed about one kilometer southwest of Bolsward, Holland, of the province of Friesland. There were no survivors.
The mayor of Bolsward received the bodies from the Germans, and immediately the town donated the money to buy the plot and pay the funeral expenses and care for the graves of the deceased American soldiers. The funeral was attended by the whole town, and the graves were completely covered with many flowers. (www.honorstates.org)
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| Monument at the graves in Bolsward |
Sgt. Charles E. Smith's body was sent home in August 1949.
The Decatur Daily Review, August 27, 1949 -
"SGT SMITH BODY ARRIVES IN DECATUR
Funeral services for Tech. Sgt. Charles E. Smith, 19, Lake City, will be at 9:30 A.M. Monday in St. Isadore's Catholic Church, Bethany. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
The body of Sergeant Smith, killed in action over Holland in 1943, arrived in Decatur yesterday afternoon. The body was taken to the residence in Lake City today. J. J. Moran & Sons funeral home is in charge."
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| St. Isadore Cemetery, Bethany, Illinois Lovington Reporter, August 26, 1949, p. 1 - |
"LAST RITES FOR SGT CHAS. E. SMITH AT ST. ISADORE'S CHURCH
Funeral services for Technical Sergeant Charles E. Smith, 19, of Lake City, will be held Monday at 9:30 a.m. in St. Isadore's Catholic Church west of Lovington.
The body will arrive in Decatur on Friday afternoon and on Saturday evening, will be taken to the family home northwest of Lake City.
Sgt. Smith, a radio operator of the Eighth Air Force was killed in action over Holland, December 22, 1943. He entered service November 13, 1942.
He was the son of Mr and Mrs. John T. Smith of near Lake City. He was born September 10, 1923, and is survived by his parents and brothers, Thomas of Decatur, and John, Leonard, Daniel and Donald, at home.
He was a graduate of Lovington township high school with the class of 1941 and was a member of St. Isadore Catholic Church. Community Post No. 429, American Legion of Lovington will participate in military rites. The pall bearers will be Bill Smith, __ Frantz, John Foley, Bill _croft, Homer Rich, and Vincent Griffin. Burial will be in St. Isadore's Cemetery...
Robert Carpenter, Researcher
