Gerald Robert Smith
MilitaryAssigned to 764BS, 461BG, 15AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Odertal oil refinery in B-24 42-52025; Mauled by fighters, #3 engine on fire, oxygen sytem shot out, A/C abandoned. Dislocated shoulder diving through bomb bay doors. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 10680
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Fifteenth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Fifteenth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Arsenic and Lace
- Unit: 461st Bomb Group 765th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Dulag Luft Grosstychow Dulag 12
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft I, Barth, Germany
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Cerignola #3
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Rogers City, MI | 11 October 1920 | Son of Oscar W Smith. |
|
Enlisted |
Detroit, MI | 20 June 1942 | Detroit, Michigan |
|
Other Baled out POW |
Muglitz, Germany | 17 December 1944 | Failed to Return (FTR) Odertal oil refinery in B-24 42-52025; Mauled by fighters. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 10680 |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Barth, Germany | 17 December 1944 | Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag Luft I. |
|
Other Discharged USAAF |
30 November 1945 | Honourable discharge. | |
|
Died |
Garden Grove, CA | 5 August 2003 | |
| Grand Rapids, MI | NoK: Wife Helen L Smith. | ||
|
Based |
Torretta | 17 December 1944 | Assigned to 764BS, 461BG, 15AF USAAF. |