Charles Leland Smith
MilitaryAdded individual picture
Shot down 5 November 1943 in B-17 #42-30789 'Flak Suit'. Prisoner of War (POW). Charles Smith landed in the Dauwstraat in Waasmunster, to the East of Lokeren, Belgium, and was quickly captured on 5 November 1943 with four others (Bramwell, Current, Meader and Sage). He found himself with them in the cellars of the Kommandantur in the city of Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. Sent later to Stalag Luft 1 in Barth, Germany, where he met with his Co-Pilot William Current. The camp was liberated on 30 April 1945.
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: 100th Bomb Group 388th Bomb Group 563rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 19081294 and O-740736
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 563rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 19053337
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 563rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 12038016 and O-802258
- Highest Rank: Major
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 563rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 37428551
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 563rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 34362270
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Engineer / Top Turret Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Flak Suit
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 563rd Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 5 November 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Brannon, Kentucky, United States | 7 January 1921 | the son of Lucien M. Smith and Ruth Lovelace Steele |
Enlisted |
Lexington, Kentucky, United States | 23 March 1942 | Enlisted as a Private in the Air Corps |
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Barth, Germany | 5 November 1943 - 4 June 1945 | Prisoner of War (POW). Interned at Stalag Luft 1 in Barth, Germany, where he met with his Co-Pilot William Current. The camp was liberated on 30 April 1945. NARA WWII POW database :"Stalag Luft 1 - Returned to military control 4/6/45" |
Died |
Nicholasville, Kentucky, United States | 20 August 2000 | |
Buried |
Maple Grove Cemetery, Nicholasville, Kentucky, United States | ||
Nicholasville, Kentucky, United States |
Revisions
NARA WWII Enlistment records
NARA WWII POW records
MACR 3137
Family info at http://www.uky.edu/Education/Alumni/spring2001/lelandsmith.html
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3137 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database