Virgil Smith

Military

Virgil Smith was Engineer / Top Turret gunner on the 14 January 1945 mission to bomb the bridge at Steinebrück, Saint-Vith, Belgium. B-26 Serial #42-107588. MACR 11926.

Virgil had completed 35 combat missions and spent a furlough in the United States in June 1944. He decided to fly on other missions and was back in England in August. He is credited with a total of 50 bombing missions, including that of 14 January 1945.

In his statement in MACR 11926, Captain Warren Anderson, bombardier on 107588 that day, mentions that, having been immediately captured after landing, about 5-10 miles SW of Saint-Vith, he was taken to a German HQ building where he met Armourer Gunner S/Sgt Louis Prejean of their crew. Sgt Virgil Smith was later brought to the same building. The Germans started walking the three of them East into Germany, away from the front. At about 22:00 that same day, they managed to escape from their guards and walked West toward the Allied lines. On 17 January, the 3 men reached a point about 1½ mile from the US lines and rested in a foxhole, being tired and not having eaten for 2 days.

At about 04:30 on the morning of the 17th, either the Americans or the Germans began shelling the area they were in and Anderson was hit by a shell fragment in the right thigh. Sgts Prejean and Smith helped him to a nearby farmhouse (“in the vicinity of Bovigny or Houffalize”) and left him with the Belgian family there. Both sergents planned to try to make it through the lines. Captain Anderson was captured on 19 January, taken to a hospital in Germany and mentions he never heard about the fate of Prejean and Virgil Smith. It is presumed they might have been killed during the fighting in the Houffalize / Saint-Vith area, Belgium (Battle of the Bulge).





Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

Private First Class Barbara O'Brien of the Womens Army Corps, paints the nose of a B-26 Marauder (YU-Y. serial number 41-34982) nicknamed "Jolly Roger" of the 323rd Bomb Group. Image stamped on reverse: 'Associated Press.' [stamp], 'Passed for Publcation 4 Dec 1943.' [stamp] and '295589.' [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: 'W.A.C.S. on duty at a Bomber Station. Associated Press Photo shows:- Pfc: Barbara O'Brien painting the Jolly Roger on the nose of a Marauder with the crew looking on.'
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 323rd Bomb Group 453rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-667904
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 323rd Bomb Group 453rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 18084765 and O-726105
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Role/Job: Bombardier
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Unit: 323rd Bomb Group 453rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 18024532 and O-660867
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Role/Job: Navigator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 323rd Bomb Group 453rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 34285298
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator / Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 323rd Bomb Group 453rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 38310701
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade)
  • Role/Job: Armorer; Gunner

Aircraft

A B-26 Marauder (VT-R, serial number 42-107588) of the 323rd Bomb Group in flight. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Marauder. Credit USAAF.'
  • Aircraft Type: B-26 Marauder
  • Unit: 323rd Bomb Group 453rd Bomb Squadron

Missions

  • Date: 14 January 1945

Events

Event Location Date Description

Enlisted

5 March 1942

Died

14 January 1945 Probably killed after landing in parachute and trying to reach the US lines during the fighting in the Houffalize / Saint-Vith area, Belgium (Battle of the Bulge)

Born

the son of Virgil and Bess Smith

Buried

Born

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added " / " in the "Role/job" field as a separator to aid readability.

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

Connections to crew members for whom new pages were created

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 11926
NARA WWII Enlistment records
ABMC website
Personal research on plane and crew

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Combat Chronology, WWII Memorial, Marauder Men / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia