Richard Oliver Smith
Military ROLL OF HONOUR
He served as a pilot with the 568th Bomb Squadron of the 390th Bomb Group.
Added image from user NieceBarb's profile page.
Object Number - UPL 24113 - Lieutenant Richard "Dick" Oliver Smith, was the oldest son of Oscar D. and Frances E. Smith of Covington, PA. He and all crew members were KIA on...
Richard Oliver Smith, "Dick" was the oldest son of Oscar D. and Frances E. Smith of Covington, PA. He served as a pilot with the 586th Bomb Squadron of the 390th Bomb Group. He was part of crew no. 16.
On 19 July 1944, returning from a mission to Schweinfurt, his B-17 was hit by flak and left the formation. The aircraft crashed at Haren, north east of Brussels, Belgium. None of the crew survived.
Dick O Smith is buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 37449662
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Bombardier; Togglier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Geronimo
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 19 July 1944
- Official Description:
Places
![A bomber crew of the 390th Bomb Group with their B-17 Flying Fortress ( serial number 42-31027) nicknamed "Honey Chile" and their dog and monkey mascots "Scrappy" and "Joe". Image stamped on reverse: ‘Fox.’ [stamp], ‘passed for publication 25 Oct 1943.’ [stamp] and ‘289774.’ [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: ‘AERIAL MASCOTS OF FORTRESS CREWS. PH/MoN. As frisky and friendly a pair of aerial mascots as you'll find in Britain are "Scrappy" and "Joe", pup and monkey team belonging to the](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-380433.jpg.webp?itok=L7HbOA_i)
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Parham
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Mansfield, PA, USA | 21 August 1921 | Born in Tioga County, PA, August 21, 1921 to Oscar D. and Frances E. Smith. Lived in Mansfield, PA until moving to farm in Covington as a boy and young man where living through the Depression was a challenge. He graduated in 1940 from Covington High School and went to work at Corning Glass Factory in Corning, NY. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps and trained at Maxwell Air Force Base. He shipped out to Framlingham, England just in time for D-Day, then flew missions with his B-17 crew until being KIA July 19, 1944. He was survived by a wife, no children, his parents, brother Chester and sister Marian Ames. His wife left the decision of whether to bring his body home for burial to his next of kin, his father. The decision was not to do so. There was little trust of the military or the government in their grief, and they did not feel they could know it was actually his remains. I, the niece, having been able to view the German war records online, believe the government reports to the parents were all correct. It was a sad story for the family to wonder over the years. |
|
Died |
Haren, 1130 Brussels, Belgium | 19 July 1944 | This is where the aircraft crashed. |
|
Buried |
Plot D Row 25 Grave 14 |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 7555 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database
